SAT with Andrea L.

I am a driven and organized early career scientist with strong communication and interpersonal skills. I received my Ph.D. this year from New York Medical College in Microbiology and Immunology, and graduated with a 3.90 GPA. Prior to that, I received my B.S. in Biology from Stony Brook University in 2009, and graduated magna cum laude, with an Honors award in Biology. During my enrollment in undergraduate, I served as an academic tutor for a variety of undegraduate courses. These included an array of nearly all undergraduate biology courses (for example, introductory biology, cell biology, microbiology, immunology, etc), chemistry courses (honors and regular level freshman chemistry courses predominantly), physics courses (physics for life sciences majors primarily), as well as writing and composition courses. In addition, I served as a teaching assistant for upper division microbiology courses, and was required to construct individual lesson plans for my students, as well as hold weekly office hours and provide exam review assistance. I also served as a teaching assistant for upper division organic chemistry laboratory courses, and served as the primary instructor for classes of 40 students each, and was responsible for instruction of organic chemistry techniques utilized in the laboratory, evaluating student performance by grading laboratory notebooks and administering laboratory quizzes. This particular experience enabled me to highlight the necessity of thorough organization to my students, a key skill required to succeed in science. In the interim between undergraduate and my graduate program, I taught at Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes. This is a specialized tutoring center geared toward elementary-age children with various learning disabilities, ranging from ADD to austistic spectrum disorders. The lesson plans were carefully tailored to each student following a thorough series of evaluations in order to appropriately target the areas in which they struggled. During my tenure as a Ph.D. student, I served as a teaching assistant for the clinical microbiology laboratories for the medical school. This entailed instructing each laboratory section in basic microbiological techniques they would require upon completing their MD degrees, such as interpreting various diagnostic tests, culturing bacteria and identifying cultures, sterile techniques, and microscopy skills. As a supplement to my Ph.D. program, I also provided private tutoring services to high school students in the neighboring areas. I held individual sessions with high school students taking various biology and chemistry courses, including AP level. In addition to regular class supplementary assistance, I also assisted with AP exam preparation where appropriate. Following my initial private tutoring enterprise, I took a part-time position with Sylvan Learning Center, and I currently serve as the only high school science tutor for the Darien, CT branch. I provide tutoring services for all high school science courses, with heavy emphasis on biology (including honors and AP), and chemistry (including honors and AP), but also tutor physics and provide SAT and ACT science test prep services. In addition to my academic and educational background, I also hold a black belt in judo, and have participated in this sport for the past 21 years. As a requirement to having a black belt, I have received a cleared background check, and am also a nationally certified coach for judo, and am legally authorized to accompany minors to competitions when their parents cannot attend. In total, I have nearly a decade of education assistance to students ranging from elementary-age all the way to the graduate school level. In addition, I have been providing instructional services to students of all ages in judo, thereby providing additional support to my qualifications as an educator.