All of
Colleen’s current tutoring subjects are listed at the left. You
can read more about
Colleen’s qualifications in specific subjects below.
Cooking
Hello! As the oldest of nine children, I started cooking when I was 7. I took cooking classes at the local Girl's Club and also have taken classes in Spanish and Indian cuisines. For a while, I had a part-time catering business on the side and love to entertain. My specialty was Chinese and unusual buffets. I have a collection of more than 100 cookbooks covering different meals and various cuisines.
I can teach the basics of cooking and baking, provide ideas for varying meal plans, provide shopping and planning tips to help you save money, help you plan a basic kitchen or give you ideas, recipes and the ability to serve unusual and impressive meals for parties of two to 100!
Elementary (K-6th)
My background in running a community center, doing student teaching while in college, and while volunteering in the inner-city of Springfield, MA contribute toward my experience. I have tutored young children periodically as a volunteer and as a paid tutor for more than 30 years, so I have a great deal of experience.
Thank you so much!
General Computer
Hello,
I have been using PCs for 25 years or so. I can help you get over any fears or concerns you might have, learn how to install and delete programs, clean up your system, advise on anti-virus software protection, teach you how to use Word (creating, editing and saving documents; setting up a filing system; retrieving documents before you lose them entirely, print documents, and so on). I can help you with the basics of Excel and am fairly well-versed in PowerPoint. I can also help you surf the Web and conduct searches to find the most relevant information and/or data using a variety of search engines.
Thank you for your consideration!
Marketing
Most of my professional career has related to Marketing:
- More than 35 years in the field of Marketing Research
- Nearly 10 years in Public Relations and Communications for the world's largest and
most respected PR firm at that time
- Two decades of running and marketing my own small business
- Most recently, teaching Marketing to MBA candidates with the University of Phoenix online.
I will be able to help students understand:
- What Marketing is
- How it differs from sales
- That advertising is but one component of Marketing
- The differences between the sales, product, Marketing and holistic approaches to Marketing
and why the Marketing and/or Holistic approaches are best in today's environment
- The importance of defining one's market target(s) and understanding their needs/interests
- How culture and one's upbringing influence consumers' choices and preferences
- The relevance of spotting and tracking trends
- Elements involved in product development and innovation, etc.
I appreciate your consideration and look forward to working with you.
Thank you!
Colleen
Poker
I've been playing various forms of poker for more than 30 years. In the past 10 years, I've been comped in Vegas and invited to tournaments there and at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Last year, I made it to the final two tables of a Texas Hold 'Em tournament at Foxwoods Casino, beating 472 other players and ranking number 13.
I had earned more than $125,000 in chips after starting with $1,500, was dealt a pair of aces but experienced an extremely bad beat by the big blind! He had been dealt a 4 and a 7 and, under normal circumstances should not have stayed in. But, he already had more than $100,000 committed in the pot, and only needed to contribute another $17,000 to stay in. The cards that came down gave him a straight (3, 4, 5, 4, 7), which beat my aces. Otherwise, I would have made it to the final table!
I'd love to help you with the basics and strategies. It's a lot of fun!
Praxis
I have tutored students in the math and verbal sections of the Praxis I exam and helped them pass the test. I just finished working with a student who needed to take the Praxis again to achieve a higher score. She passed the exam with a slightly higher score than her college required.
Generally, I find the Praxis exam to be very similar in many respects to the SAT and other entry exams in terms of basic content. I have tutored high school and adult students on the SAT, ACT, ASVAB, TEAS, GMAT, and GRE for years with very good results.
Public Speaking
I've been making presentations and speeches for more than 25 years to public and business audiences of all sizes and types. I can help you narrow in on the main points you wish to cover, structure the presentation or speech to achieve your goals and help you practice or get over any case of "nerves!" :)
Sewing
I have been sewing since I was 7, so that's more than 50 years! I first learned by taking lessons at the Girl's Club and then in junior high. While in junior high, high school and college, I made all of my own clothes - from bathing suits to suits and prom gowns. I love making unique children's clothes and have made curtains, table cloths, covers for my couches and chairs, external shower curtains and more!
Study Skills
I would like to be able to reply to students' inquiries regarding study skills. Toward this end, some of the areas on which I would focus are: managing time, taking good notes, reviewing notes, organizing information, concentrating on studies without a TV, for example, being on, setting aside a specific place that is well-lit, comfortable and well-supplied for studies, guidance on how to conduct additional research or find supplemental materials that offer explanations on how to approach or perform the required homework, investigations, analysis, and so forth, on one or more subjects.
TEAS
I have tutored students for the TEAS exam and helped them improve their scores significantly so that they were either admitted to nursing school, or were able to go back to finish their final semester of schooling.
The math and verbal components of this exam are very similar to the ASVAB, SAT, and PSAT exams - all of which I have significant and successful experience with independently and through WyzAnt.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Tennis
Hi! I've been playing tennis for 30 years and have won many tournaments and trophies. I taught tennis at a camp in Maine one summer and would love to work with beginning and intermediate students, particularly adults.