I discovered that my natural gift for mathematics early on in my academic career, first competing at a national level (MATHCOUNTS) in 6th grade and going on to develop a fondness for physics in high school. Throughout high school, I scored 5's in ~14 different AP subjects, including Calculus AB, Calculus BC, and both Physics C exams. I received the highest scores for my state in the AMC/AIME and F = ma/USAPhO competitions (qualifications for the U.S. Mathematical Olympiad and U.S. Physics...
I discovered that my natural gift for mathematics early on in my academic career, first competing at a national level (MATHCOUNTS) in 6th grade and going on to develop a fondness for physics in high school. Throughout high school, I scored 5's in ~14 different AP subjects, including Calculus AB, Calculus BC, and both Physics C exams. I received the highest scores for my state in the AMC/AIME and F = ma/USAPhO competitions (qualifications for the U.S. Mathematical Olympiad and U.S. Physics Olympiad, respectively), reinforcing my aspirations to pursue these interests further. At Johns Hopkins University, I completed concurrent degrees of a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics (double major with a Computer Science minor) and a M.A. in Mathematics, achieving dean's list every semester and graduating with honors.
Although I never struggled academically, I found that my college classmates were spending significantly more time studying than I was, in both introductory and graduate-level courses. Empathizing with them, I volunteered some of my extra time toward helping them understand new concepts or solve challenging homework problems. Eventually, I learned that I had a passion for simplifying difficult topics and developing new ways of explaining them. Not only did this help my classmates succeed, but it also deepened my understanding of the material.
Even after starting my professional career, I’ve noticed one constant is that I garner the most satisfaction through leading others to understanding new concepts. Whether it's something long familiar to me or something that my colleagues and I only just encountered, I always try to come up with additional approaches to understanding the subject matter. I appreciate the unique thought processes that different individuals may rely on, and I have an exceptional ability to figure out how others think. By constantly approaching problems or concepts in unorthodox ways, and by identifying and considering the preferred train of thought those around me, I am innately a tutor.
