
Lesson Details
Writing
- Levels Taught:
- Elementary, Middle School, High School, College
I am been inspired by and influenced by various writers of fiction and nonfiction, including Carl Jung, Aldous Huxley,Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Robbins, Anton Chekhov and others.
Andrew teaches

About
- Teaches students:
- Ages 9+
- Teaching since:
- May 2014
*In order to avoid an awkward schedule, I have limited my availability to a few evenings during the week. However, I am open to working another time that may work best for you.*
I have experience working with people individually and in groups, as an undergrad Psychology intern, a cognitive skills trainer, a counseling student, an adjunct instructor and an academic coach. As an undergrad intern, I worked with elementary school children as a tutor and a mentor. As a counseling student, I have worked with various populations, from grade school students (grades 4-8; making healthier choices) to adults (stress, anxiety, career decisions, bereavement, etc.) to older adults in hospice care. I have facilitated psycho-educational groups with individuals suffering from a mental illness as well. Lastly, I worked with college students at a local university as an academic coach. In this role, I helped students process concerns and create goals regarding developing time management skills, coping strategies for anxiety, study skills, information processing and motivation. These experiences have helped me gain a continually growing understanding of facilitating the learning process with individuals and with groups.
I teach student development classes (critical thinking, motivation theory, study strategies, time management, stress management, etc.) at a local community college, I teach an upper-level learning and development course (views of learning, motivation, the memory process, memory strategies, critical issues in education, etc.) at a local university, and I work as an academic coach at another local university.
As the information above may suggest, I hold education to such a high, passionate regard. It is what promotes a healthy, well-informed society. As an auto-didactic learner, I believe that everyone has the ability to learn anything one desires. It is a matter of how one approaches it. Therefore, my approach is one that is peculiar to each of the individuals I work with.
I present concepts with the idea that the combination of experience, discourse, and meaning-making is the key to learning. This aside from my teaching tools based on the views of learning. With an aversion towards cookie-cutter approaches, I maintain an open mind to my invariably evolving approach of sharing knowledge and insight with others. This comes with my continual seeking of growth in the art of teaching with consideration of the process of learning. Further, I strive to create a warm, positive atmosphere that allows one to feel comfortable with making mistakes, with making progress and with being themselves. Fundamentally, this is my approach to working with people.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT COACHING: Using my insight gained as a counseling student, I am happy to offer my personal development coaching service. In this role, I help individuals develop their path of change, making sure motivation and focus is well-maintained. I provide a judgment-free and understanding atmosphere for one to reflect and process concerns as well as work towards making personal changes (e.g. self-actualization, career, anxiety management, lifestyle, life changes) from an existential perspective. I believe that such a space should be available for everyone, so I am especially happy to provide it.
My approach to personal development coaching is based on my therapeutic orientation called Gestalt Therapy (GT). The underlying idea of GT is that awareness is the key initiator of change. Awareness allows one to discern where such things as anxiety, unhappiness, ambivalence, etc. stem from. I believe that it is important for every human being to go through such a process so that peace and awareness within brings peace and awareness to the outer world. I am inspired by and influenced by the ideas of Carl Jung (Analytical Psychology- particularly the Psychological Types) and Carl Rogers (Client-Centered Therapy). I help facilitate the process in a genuinely humane, empathic and professional manner. If interested, please, see the details I have provided under Life Coaching. I work with grade school students and adults. I am absolutely loyal to the idea of confidentiality; therefore, I ensure that information of anybody I work with is not at risk of being shared with a third party.
ACADEMIC COACHING/STUDY SKILLS: Using my passion for education and my insight gained in my few years (so far) immersed in the world of education, I help students (grade school and college) develop areas of their academic life needing improvement. As suggested above, I help students develop time management, learning strategies, coping strategies for anxiety, and motivation (i.e. help them to see the value of learning). Though it is a valuable tool, it is presently not a service that is offered at most schools in the area.
WRITING: As a lover of reading and writing, I understand the value of expressing thoughts, feelings and ideas. As a writer, my focus is on creative writing (mostly short stories presently) and essays. Given my undergraduate and postgraduate experiences, I have written many academic papers, in APA format and in MLA format. I edit and revise papers as well as help individuals develop their writing voice, develop their ideas, develop an approach to structuring writing, maintain consistency with writing and provide genuine feedback. Beyond that, my help with writing is limited to the goals of the the individual.
TWO IMPORTANT THINGS: I strive to maintain a positive collaboration with those I work with. I believe this is one of the most important parts of the process. Also, I promote the idea of Soul. To me, Soul is any sincere display of passion. With Soul, we perform in a most genuine and graceful way. I personally believe that whether one is playing the piano, writing a story, living life, singing, giving a speech or anything (necessarily peaceful), one should do it with Soul.
LASTLY, I am open to: Going beyond my travel radius, at an agreed-upon adjusted rate; working with multiple students, at an agreed-upon adjusted rate; meeting at a public place that is convenient, if it is preferred; and meeting at a student's location, depending on the preferred time and the distance.
I mentioned everything that is above so that it may be known and understood. Feel free to send me a message if you have questions about any of the services I provide, my approach or anything!
PEACE BE WITHIN YOU
Experience
Adjunct Faculty
Jan 2017 - PresentEducational Psychology Department: Teach Learning and Development in the Secondary School-
Adolescent, which covers theories of learning and development and their application to teaching, individual and group differences, learning preferences and strategies, theories of motivation, classroom management, and critical issues in education. As I describe it: A course that informs ways to help an individual and group discover the value of truth in order to seek it and preserve it.
Student Success Coach
Jan 2017 - PresentProvide academic coaching to undergraduate and graduate students. This includes covering the soft skills (e.g. love for knowledge, humility, listening skills), critical thinking, learning strategies, goal setting, stress and anxiety management, motivation and more.
+ Read MoreAdjunct Faculty
Aug 2016 - PresentBehavioral Sciences Department: Teach a student development course that covers critical thinking, learning strategies, the memory process, setting goals, self-reflection, self-regulation, stress management and others, in order to help students develop a deep appreciation for the empowerment of learning and growth.
+ Read MoreEducation
Community Counseling M.A.
Aug 2012 - Dec 2015Psychology B.A., with a minor in Music
Aug 2007 - May 2012Languages
English
Spanish
Photos & Videos
9 Reviews
Write a ReviewVery professional, friendly and informative. Andrew is patient and keeps my daughter interested. Thank you Andrew for making piano lessons for my daughter the best experience ever!
Andrew is very patient and friendly
I have to give Andrew 5 stars for the first lesson. He really cares about meeting goals specific to the person he is teaching. He started out with some basic exorcises that I can do at home and then we talked about how the lessons can be structured in the future for what I think I need to improve. He was very nice and I highly recommend him!
+ Read MoreAndrew is a great teacher. He really makes my daughter feel comfortable while learning and makes the whole experience fun and relaxed. She is learning a lot with Andrew and I would recommend him to anyone.
Very friendly and understanding of the type of lessons I wanted. Super cool dude.
Andrew is really good with kids. He has lots of patience. He teaches my daughter Singing, Ukelele and Reading. I would recommend him.
Andrew is excellent with my 5 year old daughter. I highly recommend him.
Andrew has a wonderful talent for teaching music; ukulele, guitar, piano and especially voice. With every lesson you will not be disappointed and never feel like you are taking a step backwards.
Great teacher, flexible and reliable. Very patient. He does a great job at meeting you at the level you are at. I definitely feel more confidence about my singing ability and look forward to gaining even more skill. I highly recommend Andrew!