Alex Balfanz

Biography

Having recently graduated from UC Berkeley, the importance of education is still fresh in my mind. In high school, I had a knack for math and writing, taking advanced calculus courses and editing for my school paper. I utilized my skills to assist my peers with their schoolwork, as well as give feedback on college entrance essays. However, once I entered college, I realized that I, too, would need tutoring if I wanted to do my best academically. Coding proved especially difficult, but with the right help I ended up graduating with a degree in Data Science!

Now, I recognize that every step of my education has prepared me for the next. At AJ Tutoring, I hope to assist students in building the educational foundations they need for success in high school, college, and life, whether I’m facilitating a deeper understanding of the logic behind algebra, or illustrating the importance of structure in argumentative essays.

In addition to tutoring and editing, I also created and taught a small class at Berkeley in my final semester. The subject, ambient music, is a personal passion of mine, and my goal was to foster a similar passion in my students. In tutoring, my aim is the same. While learning by rote may produce results in the short term, I know from firsthand experience that burnout is a very real possibility. Instead, I try to teach in a way that allows students to connect with the material, to feel they’ve understood and mastered it instead of merely memorized. That way, they can carry what they’ve learned throughout their lives.

Outside of tutoring, my biggest passion is the arts. I enjoy watching films and relaxing with a good book. But, more than anything, I love music. I collect it, study it, write it, play it, produce it, teach it, and even DJ on occasion!