PrepNow Tutor - Sandra I.
Sandra has taught just about every subject in the classroom, but she has extensive experience tutoring math. She received her bachelor's in psychology with a minor in biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
"Since college, I have worked full time in the public schools as a substitute teacher while subsequently working as a registered behavior technician," Sandra recounts. As a substitute teacher, she taught math, science, reading, language, and history to all grades. She eventually branched out to become a math tutor. In this role, she taught 6th-8th grade pre-algebra and test prep, particularly for state testing; later, she tutored high school math, covering algebra 1 and 2, pre-calculus, and trigonometry.
After discovering her calling, Sandra decided to go back to school and earned a master's in speech and language pathology from North Carolina Central University. She currently works as a tutor and speech and language pathologist.
Sandra fell in love with teaching while tutoring her siblings, and eventually expanded outside her immediate family to help cousins and close family friends. "I obtained my first official tutoring position in 2023 and enjoyed every minute of it!" Her proudest moment as a tutor was when she witnessed a child who hated a subject suddenly develop a newfound enthusiasm as a result of their work together. "It makes me feel fulfilled and realize I am doing something truly impactful," she posits.
Sandra has a grassroots approach to tutoring. She feels that a student should understand the foundation of any concept before progressing to the next step. "Having a strong foundation in any subject inspires confidence in students' ability to fully conceptualize and apply their knowledge across different scenarios," says Sandra. In her view, a student will not be able to appropriately apply concepts and information if they don't understand the "why" behind every strategy or technique. "Over time, focusing on the "why" enhances a student's critical thinking skills," she concludes.
Sandra has various accolades from her time in school. She has an Academic Excellence Award, a Clinical Excellence Award, and a Leadership Award (the latter for holding a leadership position on the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association E-board). As an undergraduate, she was on the Dean's List and the President's List; she later graduated Summa Cum Laude from North Carolina Central University.
In her free time, she loves to laugh and hang out with friends. "I am a charismatic and outgoing individual who enjoys interacting with others and doing spontaneous activities," she offers. Other hobbies include painting, reading, and binge-watching shows on Netflix. Fun fact: Sandra can guess anyone's shoe size just by eyeballing their shoes.
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