Tanis Thompson

After leaving home to attend a school across the state, I learned I had a knack for
exploration and seeking new opportunities. This desire has culminated in tutoring, a valuable
position to not only give back to a community that has been home for some of the best years of
my life, but to be constantly exploring new topics and meeting new people. Tutoring allows me
to do what I do best: Personally help people navigate difficult subjects in their lives. This keeps
me proud and grateful as I move forward and improve my own skills each day.

I was born in Santa Barbara, CA, but spent all of my childhood raised in Riverside, CA. I
studied at a small high school called Ramona High, where I met many of the people I still call
friends to this day. After years of never leaving Southern California, I decided to take a big leap
and travel across the state for my undergraduate education at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I graduated here with my degree in Biochemistry, learning not just an advanced science, but foundational educational skills. I learned how to successfully apply knowledge I’d studied in the lab and I learned how to effectively communicate advanced concepts with my peers.

When I began my undergraduate education, I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. I began as an Astrophysics major, but couldn’t find success or enjoyment in the courses I
took. It took two years before I found chemistry and decided to study it seriously. At its foundation, Chemistry is the building blocks of the universe and everything within it. I found it
fascinating to see how everyday occurrences could all be linked to chemistry, and now get to enjoy seeing students who discover that for the first time fall in love with the same subject I did years ago.

I’ve been tutoring students for years, both off the clock and on the clock. In my early undergraduate years, I utilized tutoring as a quick way to make some pocket money involving
subjects I was good at. I would tutor students in my classes who needed the extra help throughout the quarter, and this would rack up to become about a year’s worth of tutoring
experience in an informal environment. I solidified my tutoring skills by becoming an official Peer Advisor, teaching students about the ideal pathway they would take to graduate on time. Before this, my tutoring skills were based entirely off of my academic success. But becoming a peer advisor taught me about how crucial it is to understand the needs of the students you’re working with, as well as how to best develop a working relationship with them.

Every student’s needs are different, but my tutoring style is based heavily on practical approaches to problem solving. The 1 on 1 tutoring format we employ is useful for being able to work through problems at a pace determined by the tutor and student in conjunction, which is why I emphasize working through real problems together with my students. By teaching them through the problems they’ll be facing, they better understand why they’re learning the topic and be better prepared for exams. I generally employ this strategy whilst also emphasizing small tips and tricks to memorize key details that drilling problems won’t help. These strategies, together, give students a tool kit needed to solve any problem they come across and find success in the classroom.

When I’m not in the classroom, I love to hike, write, and go camping with friends.