PhD student in Engineering Mechanics, researching animal movement

Amado A.

My greatest satisfaction is to make sense of subjects that can feel overwhelming at first, and I genuinely love to help students achieve that feeling...

I'm a first-year PhD student in Engineering Mechanics at Virginia Tech, where my research focuses on the biomechanics of insect locomotion and bio-inspired engineering — studying living systems, and applying that understanding to engineering models. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering, also from Virginia Tech, which gave me a strong interdisciplinary foundation spanning biology, physics, mathematics, and engineering.

My teaching background spans several years and settings. In high school, I served as a Link Crew leader and a multilingual mentor, working one-on-one and in small groups with students of varying levels. More recently, I've been mentoring undergraduate researchers in my lab, guiding them through scientific theory and data analysis. I've also reached over two million points on Khan Academy across all levels of mathematics, which reflects both my depth of preparation and my conviction that real mastery takes deliberate, patient effort.

Whether I'm teaching mathematics, biology, physics, or even Arabic, my focus is always on building genuine understanding rather than memorizing shortcuts. I will often draw on my research background to connect textbook concepts to real life applications, which in my opinion, is the real joy of learning. I adapt to each student's pace and comfort level and work with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students alike.

Feel free to reach out, I'd be happy to schedule a first session!