UChicago PhD Student with Broad Experience in Humanities Tutoring

Neal S.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies (Summa Cum Laude), a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara. At present, I am a third-year PhD student in Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago, specializing in close reading, literary analysis, writing, and multi-language translation across German, French, and Latin.

I have over three years of formal teaching and tutoring experience working with high school, undergraduate, and adult learners across various classroom, small-group, and one-on-one settings. As a faculty member at The Hun School of Princeton, I taught yearlong Honors U.S. History and World Studies courses to high school students (ages 14–18), where I designed curriculum, guided intensive essay drafting, and prepared students for AP-level writing. Additionally, I served as a Teaching Assistant at UC Santa Barbara, leading weekly discussion sections, and mentoring undergraduate students in every phase of research writing.

Pedagogically, I prioritize active learning and the scaffolding of complex literary, historical, or analytical concepts into a series of actionable steps. Crucially, I rely on humor and approachable conversation to demystify challenging material, enliven student engagement, and encourage creative, stress-free thinking. Whether working one-on-one with high school students on college application essays and AP English Literature or guiding undergraduates through university-level research writing, I focus on helping students build confidence, master close-reading strategies, and a develop clear and persuasive writing voice.