Marilyn Flores

My passion for education started at a very young age. As a kid, I worked as a T.V. host for an educational program in El Salvador, and when I turned fifteen I started to work behind the cameras. As a coach to the younger kids, I would help them to understand the material and to feel more confident about themselves. Later on, I discovered that I was very passionate about education and teaching. As a volunteer for my university’s theater group, I would lead workshops on Spanish creative writing and performance for kids from middle school through high school.

I was born and raised in El Salvador, where I had the privilege to attend both public and private schools. For college, I started my undergraduate career at the Dr. José Matías Delgado University. There, I studied communications and broadcasting and discovered my true passion for language, creative writing, and storytelling. In the pursuit of an education in film, I transferred to San Francisco State University, where I earned a BFA in film-making. Throughout my educational career, I had the joy to have mentors who inspired me to achieve, and to always seek knowledge. “Keep learning” became one of my mottos.

Spanish is my native language, so the connection I have with it goes beyond my culture. In other words, Spanish is my life. From my early educational years, I’ve been fascinated with the language, and since then I have mastered it in all aspects. I work to help my students fully understand Spanish from its deepest roots and develop their confidence in reading, writing, and speaking the language. In addition, having learned a second language myself at an academic level, I am able to identify the struggles and opportunities students encounter when learning a new language.

Throughout college and in my professional life, I’ve worked in plenty of positions that have allowed me to coach, teach, and serve as a counselor. I have helped family friends with Spanish homework, volunteered to teach kids script-writing and storytelling, and worked as a teaching assistant for the SF State cinema department. I feel lucky to have been a part of my students’ journeys and to have been able to support and provide the students the tools and creativity needed to succeed.

My teaching philosophy is to make learning an exciting experience by cultivating creativity and curiosity. I approach teaching by building an individualized connection and attention to each student. This structure grants personal relationships and individual development targeting particular needs and designing a unique lesson for each student. Having worked with kids from all different backgrounds and needs, I learned to develop techniques to help my students with their individual challenges by building upon their strengths.

Beyond tutoring, in my spare time I enjoy writing and developing ideas for screenplays and film projects. I love taking pictures, learning about film-making, hiking, and exploring new places.