Owen

I have been tutoring since 2017. I earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering with summa cum laude honors and a master's degree in computer engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. I tutor students in grades 9-College.

My tutoring style:

I believe that if someone doesn’t understand a topic, this just means they haven’t had it explained to them the right way yet. I excel at finding new and interesting ways to approach problems that will cater to the student’s needs. If a problem seems daunting, I like to break it down into manageable parts or relate it to things the student already knows. In my opinion, this is the best way to learn. Figuring out how to recognize familiar concepts or how to simplify a problem can really make the difference! Learning is not just about being able to solve a specific problem in class; it’s way more important to understand the approaches you should take to tackle any problem given to you. In my sessions, there is an emphasis on moving the students towards independent learning. No matter where someone starts off, they will end up more confident in themselves and their ability to break down and work through any unfamiliar problem.

Success story:

Because I worked at my university, people I tutored would regularly come up to me around campus and tell me about how they were doing. My favorite example of this was one student that started coming to me because she was struggling in a few of her classes. At the beginning, she was very unsure of herself and was reluctant to answer many questions. A few sessions in, however, she gained a lot of confidence and began to take more of a leading role in the sessions. One day, I was walking across campus and saw her. She was super excited to tell me about a recent job interview she'd had. During the interview, they asked her technical questions and she told me that she thought back to our sessions. Even though she had never seen the problems before, the strategies we talked about during our sessions gave her the confidence to tackle those problems and she was offered the job!