Tutoring

I have been tutoring students since I established the official tutoring organization for my high school during my junior year–the demand was so high that I hired my friends and began to form a network of tutors across several high schools in Orange County. It was then I learned how afraid students can be of asking questions in class, or being embarrassed in front of their peers.

Teachers have to balance the needs of all students, which means missing the needs of some students in some way, but tutoring is the place where students can finally confess their deficits, get specific problems for their exact needs, and have an academic advocate in an often scary and intimidating high stakes environment. As an avid and at time over-eager question asker myself, I often found classes to be frustrating and confusing, so I’m often able to connect with the students’ sense of hopelessness and feelings of being lost in the material. I always learn more from the students than they learn from me: each student is a new opportunity for me to communicate and relate to unique needs, perspectives, and learning styles.

During undergrad, I was hired as a tutor and teacher at The Princeton Review (TPR) test prep company, where I became a certified tutor for the SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, and any other niche test prep students needed. I rose the ranks in TPR to become a “Master Tutor” and finally was offered the role of “Premiere Tutor”–the highest level of tutor at TPR. While in college at UC Irvine, I tutored for nearly every course in the Math department catalog, and was a tutor in the computer lab for the Computer Science department.

It brings me so much joy to see students experience the “aha!” moments, and I particularly enjoy convincing students that they are not in fact, “bad at math” but merely have never had someone patient or kind enough to explain the material in a way that they could connect to. As for elite students, it’s extremely gratifying to push them past their comfort zone and challenge them in ways teachers often won’t–when you are the best student in your class, it’s easy to miss your own potential.

UCLA Tutoring

I have tutored the following courses at UCLA:

Any course involving econ, math, computer science, or statistics is one I will consider taking students for, so if your course is not on the list, don’t hesitate to reach out! If you are interested in tutoring, please email me here and I’ll be happy to discuss my availability and your tutoring needs.

Technical Interview Prep

As a data science manager at a startup and later a senior data scientist at a large tech company, I interviewed hundreds of candidates for positions in data science, data engineering, business, machine learning, and product management. Most candidates looked great on paper but had poor execution in the interview. Each year I get many requests from UC Berkeley Statistics Alumni or current students about technical interview prep, and while I can’t offer the same level of support as a professional interview coach, I take on mentees on a case by case basis and try to give some strategic advice to increase their conversion rate from application to interview, and especially from interview to offer and negotiation. I was very bewildered by the world of tech jargon when I had my first interviews, and it’s a very feedback deficient environment, so I have seen a little bit of advice to the right people go a long way. My mentees regularly secure offers with annual compensation as high as $400,000 / year, and I’m very proud to have played a role in their success. If you are a PhD student at UCLA who is worried about finding a job in industry, feel free to reach out for a quick chat or walk around the campus–I need the steps and am happy to lend a hand to ease the transition, and to hear about the interesting research and goals from our incredible community!