Rachel Jackson

I’m a Bay Area native through and through, from growing up as a Warriors fan to eating clam chowder at Pier 39. My own experiences with personalized, one-on-one tutoring in high school led to me discover my own love for teaching. The tutoring I received not only improved my grades, but also helped build a sense of self confidence that I lacked previously. Inspired, I pursued opportunities to support other students during college.

I received my bachelor’s degree from UCLA in political science with a concentration in race, ethnicity, and politics while also minoring in African American studies. From my educational journey, I have become enlightened on the importance of education and the different learning styles that people have.

Throughout college, I worked at writing centers to support students with developing their writing skills across the curriculum, whether it was for a twenty-page philosophy paper or a one-page science analysis paper. I experienced the varied learning styles of the students I worked with and developed tutoring techniques to meet their needs. Time and time again, students are passed along to the next topic or assignment or class without fully grasping academic concepts, so I learned that it is important not only to help with current topics, but also to review previous work.

When entering a tutoring session, I always want to make sure that my student feels comfortable in the space. When there is a base level of comfort, people are more receptive to learning! I find that this is especially true with the SAT, as students are often intimidated by the exam. It is important to me that they be comfortable trying new strategies so that we can relieve some of the daunting anxiety about the exam.

To me, tutoring isn’t just about a student receiving a good grade; it’s also about making sure the student is able to apply what they learn in their tutoring sessions to other avenues of life.