PrepNow Tutor - Diya C.
A creative in the fields of art, science, and education, Diya has taught music theory, physics, and neuroscience. She earned a BS in neuroscience with a minor in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2026. "I plan to pursue a career in academia, with a specific interest in research studying how music-based interventions can support those with neurodegenerative diseases," she shares. "I also hope to eventually teach neuroscience at the collegiate level."
Diya began tutoring in 2020 as a volunteer instructor for a digital educational platform. "I taught music theory to groups of elementary school students, and I experienced firsthand the level of responsibility and impact that comes with tutoring and teaching jobs," she says. Since then, Diya has continued to perform educational outreach with Georgia Tech's Neuroscience Department and larger STEM-focused groups in Atlanta. Additionally, she has tutored physics privately.
Diya was a teaching assistant for the Neuroscience Principles Laboratory at Georgia Tech for two years. "In my last semester as a TA, I remember looking around at the cohort of instructors and realizing many of them used to sit in the classroom as my students in the past," she reflects. "This was my proudest moment as a teacher, as I felt I had kept the cycle going, guiding and mentoring students enough that they could then fill my shoes upon my graduation."
Diya's teaching style emphasizes transferable skills. Over the years, she has learned that it is often more about the process and approach than it is about the correct answer. "When working with students, it is not my job to tell them what is correct right away, but rather to guide them through the steps that take them there," she posits. "If they think through that process themselves with the guidance and support of a tutor, then it will be easier to get there on their own in the future." Ideally, Diya wants her students to learn new ways of thinking so they can grow and overcome challenges independently.
At Georgia Tech, Diya received a Globalink-Mitacs Fulbright Canada award, which allowed her to do research at McMaster University in Canada in the summer of 2025. She was also on the dean's list as an undergraduate and is proud to have completed a rigorous undergraduate thesis. "It was an excellent experience to take a project from start to finish and get to discuss research I knew so well at conferences and in my writing," she says. In high school, Diya was the first recipient of the Hogan Family Music Scholarship, awarded to students studying neuroscience with music.
Throughout her academic career, she sang in choirs and a cappella groups. "I also co-founded the flash mob club at Georgia Tech, for which I got to choreograph and perform spontaneous dances on campus with various groups of people—even in lectures!"
These days, Diya loves doing yoga, experimenting with new recipes, and making music. "I have released music on streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, etc) and am hoping to continue to release more."
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