Physics, Math, Chemistry Tutoring Client Testimonials
“Sandy saved Michael’s AP Chemistry and Pre-Calculus grades”
“Michael is the third child in our family who Sandy has tutored. In one session, Sandy taught enough AP Chemistry to Michael to raise his semester grade from an A- to an A. Over the course of just four sessions, Sandy fixed Michael’s pre-calculus understanding so he earned an A instead of a B+. Since he wants to be an engineering major at a top notch private university, it is imperative that he earn all A’s. We will definitely use Sandy again for his pre-calculus and AP Chemistry this semester, and his AP Physics and AP Calculus in his senior year. Thank you for saving Michael’s grade point average Sandy!!!” – Sallie B, attorney, La Jolla Country Day School parent
“Sandy makes Freshman Physics and AP Chemistry fun”
“Sandy is practically a member of our family. She has been available on almost a moment’s notice to tutor me through a very rigorous and often-hated freshman physics class, and through AP Chemistry. She has picked me up from school, met me late at night, worked around my schedule, used a LOT of humor to ensure that I understood the concepts and correctly apply them, and made learning challenging subjects fun. Even though I became a film major, my A’s in these subjects enabled me to get into the university of my choice, and I can’t thank Sandy enough for that. She tutored my older sister, too, through freshman physics, and she is now graduating from a private college in South Carolina. We miss you, Sandy” – AJ, La Jolla Country Day Student
“My AP Physics grade and graduation happened because of Sandy”
“Sandy is hilarious, and very good at what she does. You would never guess that she is good at math and science to look at her, or talk to her, but, once you get her going, you realize she is extremely smart, and VERY good at conveying complex subject matter to her students. She tutored me through the last few weeks of AP Physics, including the dreaded Rube Goldberg project, and I would not have graduated and gone to the college of my choice without her. A few years later, I was struggling with Calculus for Science and Engineering majors, and I called Sandy again. She rearranged her schedule to accommodate me, meeting me wherever needed to ensure I earned the grade I needed. I will never forget all the problems we solved in series and sequences from her college textbook, to make sure I really got this. She is now a family friend, and we keep in touch.” – Will D., La Jolla Country Day School, Whittier College
“Sandy suspected learning disability, saved geometry grade.”
“Anna LOVED Sandy, and Anna would not have gotten through geometry and freshman physics without her. After just a few hours with Anna, Sandy correctly recognized that Anna had a learning disability, and recommended testing. Sure enough, something stood in the way of Anna learning the way teachers traditionally teach, and had been overlooked by all her teachers for over eight years. We shared the report with Sandy, and she changed the way she taught Anna in order to help her succeed. Despite getting off to a VERY rocky start and the learning challenges, Anna earned a B in geometry and went on to a private college on the East coast. Anna really responded to Sandy’s blend of humor, irreverance and everyday practical situations to make geometry and physics so much more relevant, and so much more fun.” – George F., La Jolla Country Day School parent
Tutoring Tales
There are so many more testimonials I could share with you. The daughter of a single mom friend who struggled with sixth grade math. I halved my rate so she could afford me, and enabled her to succeed in that subject. I later helped her mom through college algebra and statistics, so she could work on her degree at DeVry. A year later, I needed a big surface at a quiet place on which I could spread out my books, notes, laptop and homework for the graduate course in rocket propulsion I was taking, and this friend graciously offered her dining room table. That course was taught to me by Wendy Lawrence, NASA Astronaut who went on four Space Shuttle Missions. If you visit the Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Center and take the mock lift off ride, when you come down the ramp, you will see a board with a bunch of astronaut’s signatures on it, attesting to the real-ness of the ride. Wendy Lawrence’s is amongst them. We struggled through that class, with a book with a number of errors in it, but I earned an A, anyways. Thanks to Wendy Lawrence and the friend with the big dining room table and an even bigger heart.
The man, Fred, I met for one session to help him with College Physics for Scientists and Engineers, who said I did such a good job, he didn’t need to see me again. He had gone back to school at Embry Riddle to earn a better degree.
The girl at Point Loma Nazarene University who struggled to learn computer programming, and I helped her learn a method for debugging code, so she didn’t have to call me again.
And the parent of an 8th grader struggling with algebra, who said I was so patient with him. (I’m not known for my patience, but I, apparently, have tremendous patience for teaching math and science, so this was a surprising compliment to me. I thought everyone taught this way). He earned an A in the class, and his workbook on how to graph parabolas was used as the class example and as the instruction for the 7th graders. His mom and I are still friends. He recently graduated from Point Loma Nazarena University in San Diego, and is working in the theater arts as a performer, and liking it very much.
The list goes on of the hundreds of students I have helped, some only once, some so often their parents have left a key under the mat for me. All improved their grades in whatever math, physics, or chemistry class they took. I have met students at 10 or 11 pm at restaurants and tutored til 1 or 2 am. I have picked countless students up from school, and gotten them safely to the tutoring location. As part of becoming an adjunct professor, I had to have a TB test, be fully fingerprinted, have a Live Scan done, and be background checked by the FBI. That, along with an immaculate driving record, are my ancillary credentials.
One student’s parent’s couldn’t get her one day – one was stuck at a doctor’s appointment and the other was out of town. Thankfully, Emmi had a key and, after waiting a half hour for her mom, I took her home and ensured she was safely inside before I left.
I tutored a girl at Bristol Farms in La Jolla one time, she was a regular student, and a very attractive almost 16 year old. I had excused myself to the bathroom, and, when I came back, Stephi leaned over to me and told me that the 40 something year old man at the next table was hitting on her and creeping her out. This was not long after Chelsea King had been murdered, and my senses were on high alert for the safety of my students, particularly the young ladies I had so many of. I walked over to the man, got right in his face and said, “My student is 16, and if you say so much as one more word to her, I will call Bristol Farms security AND the San Diego Police. Are we clear? Needless to say, he did not bother Stephi again.
There was the son of a lawyer, whose daughter I later tutored, who was a year older than his classmates, and turned 18 while only a junior. I tutored him all through freshman physics, for which he earned an A, then he called me a few years later for intermediate algebra. By this time, he was a junior. He and I always had an easy, fun, rapport, in part because we both loved football so much. He didn’t drive yet, so I was taking him home late one night, and he made a very physical pass at me. I quickly admonished him. He said it was OK because he was 18. I said I didn’t care. This was still a teacher/student relationship to me, and was illegal as far as I was concerned, and that, if he ever did it again, I would refuse to tutor him any more. He is now in law school, I forget where, and distraught over the Chargers leaving San Diego.
There was another girl, Liza I believe her name was. She attended Francis Parker High School in San Diego, and I had tutored her through physics, and was now working with her on AP Chemistry. We had met at Bristol Farms that day, and, all of the sudden, she said she saw a bright, flashing light, and then she passed out. I knew Liza was on ADD medication, and I knew her mom was still shopping in the store. I quickly put cold water on Liza’s face, put a jacket under her head, and called her mom. It turned out to be an overdose of medication, and she was fine and saw her regular doctor the next day, but still. If her mom hadn’t been in the store, I would have called 911. She went onto Brown University and is doing very well.
There is the young man who I tutored through AP Physics and his Rube Goldberg project. He is another one who wouldn’t have graduated without my help. He was addicted to World of Warcraft and didn’t do his school work. At one point, his parents disconnected the internet in the house to eliminate distractions, as they were so concerned about his grades. He was on ADD medication, too, and I used to make a habit of texting his mom a few hours before I was to meet with him to ensure that he’d taken his medicine at the right time that day, so he could focus and concentrate on getting his AP Physics homework done. The strategy worked. He graduated, went onto Vanderbilt, and is now a successful businessperson.
Tutoring Students Colleges Attended (that I know of)
My students have ended up at some of the top universities and private colleges in the nation – Vanderbilt, Whittier College, Yale, Harvard, Rice, USC, Notre Dame, University of San Diego, UC San Diego, Johns Hopkins, Charleston College, Miami University of Florida, New York University, and Temple University, just to name a few. My students have come from all kinds of schools in the San Diego and South Orange County areas – La Jolla Country Day School, Francis Parker High School, Cathedral Catholic High School, The Bishop’s School, Westview High School, Torrey Pines High School, San Diego High School, Patrick Henry High School, Carmel Country High School, University of San Diego, Mesa College, Palomar College, UC San Diego, Laguna Hills High School, University High in Irvine, Saddleback College, Marsten Middle School, Poway High School and many others. It has been an honor to work with all these students over the years, and, especially, to see the difference I have made in their lives in, often, just a few hours. Along the way, I have instilled confidence and respect, and done it with humor and integration with everyday life, so they learn that the STEM fields of physics, math, and chemistry aren’t just there to torture you and make college admissions officials happy, but to teach you important life lessons in how the natural world works.