I was born and raised in a small town called Saint John, IN. I played soccer for the Chicago Fire Academy, and I blazed a trail out west by receiving an athletic scholarship from Stanford University to join their top-ranked varsity men’s soccer program. After four years at Stanford and winning two Pac-12 Championships, I graduated with a degree in computer science specializing in artificial intelligence. My key takeaways from my experiences at Stanford are that academic achievement comes from self-motivated immersion and brave engagement with material and that your craft of choice needs small, measureable increments of progress every day.

I first started tutoring classical mechanics as a member of the National Honor Society chapter in high school. During college, a countless number of my classmates came to me for late-night computer science homework help, and I coached soccer for children from Kindergarten to high school. 

As a tutor, I enjoy tutoring subjects that require teaching people how to think as opposed to teaching them what to think. For example, one of the beautiful elements of computer science is the interdisciplinary applicability of the field. Software is inherently scalable, and anybody can be empowered with the tools to potentially change their life or impact the lives of many others. Part of teaching my students how to think is teaching them how to approach their studies. I believe in teaching students to be honest and map out what they know and don’t know in a concept list, create study plans accordingly, find support (whether from study groups, friends, or educators) and adapt to what works for them as a student.

I approach my work with students with a growth mindset: I gauge the student’s level of understanding and push the student just above that level so that they can grow.  My experience in college athletics and training with professional athletes has shaped core tenets of my philosophy, namely that 1) your training level has to be harder than your competition level, and 2) trying the same thing over again expecting different results is borderline crazy.  For these reasons, my tutoring style is pushing students to become the best versions of themselves by helping them better understand their respective learning styles and problem-solving techniques so that they develop independence..

Outside of work, I my interests include marathon training, cycling, and entrepreneurship.