Deanna L.
Redmond, WA
Electrical engineering major and music lover with MIT degree
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Elec Engr, Comp SciDrexel University College of Engineering
Master'sAbout Deanna
As an engineering program manager for 15 years, and with an MIT degree to boot, I know my fair share of math and science, having taken Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology AP II. It all started when my algebra teacher sent me to math camp and entered me into a geometry contest the next year, which I got a perfect score on all rounds. Proofs
Policies
Cancellation
8 hours notice required$90 for groups
Travel Radius
Travels within 8 miles of Redmond, WA 98052Deanna offers online lessons
Deanna is approved to conduct lessons through Wyzant Online. Wyzant Online allows students and tutors to work remotely via video, audio, and collaborative whiteboard tools. For more information about how online tutoring works, check out Wyzant Online.
If you’re interested in online lessons, message Deanna to get started.
"Knowledgeable and Patient Tutor"
- Elise, Issaquah, WA on 6/14/17Deanna's passion for this subject, coupled with her natural teaching skill make her one of the best. We will come to her in the future as the need arises. Thank you, Deanna!
"Builds skills and confidence"
- Giulia, Bellevue, WA on 1/26/17Deanna works not only on improving the skills and understanding of material, but also on test taking strategies. She is more than a tutor, she is part of my student's support team through this really tough Junior year.
"Very informative"
- Thomas, Sammamish, WA on 7/20/15Deanna was very informative about the college application process and helped my daughter to narrow down the list of colleges to apply.
"Deanna was patient and very thorough."
- Stepheena, Seattle, WA on 6/12/15Microsoft Project. My lesson with her gave me a broader knowledge on how to use the software more efficiently and with success. She really helped the student feel that she cared about their success in learning.
"Timely Response"
- Eugene, Bellevue, WA on 1/8/15Deanna responded very timely for the help we need. She did great editing on the essays and had good suggestions on some topics.
"Great tutor!"
- Olga, Redmond, WA on 12/3/14Deanna did an excellent job helping my son with the preparation for his physics test. She took this challenge on the short notice and was very accomodating. She was very easy to follow and had the knowledge of the subject.
Approved subjects are in bold.
Approved subjects
In most cases, tutors gain approval in a subject by passing a proficiency exam. For some subject areas, like music and art, tutors submit written requests to demonstrate their proficiency to potential students. If a tutor is interested but not yet approved in a subject, the subject will appear in non-bold font. Tutors need to be approved in a subject prior to beginning lessons.
ACT Math
With the SAT math historically more difficult, it's easy to write off the ACT Math as its more benign cousin, when in reality, it's just a different set of questions. I have a whole range of ACT Math practice questions that focus the student on the ACT approach and help them get the best math score they can.
ACT Science
Many people opt out of the ACT because of the science section when it's actually the best part of the test. I help people focus equally on the science and math, so they get the best score possible, all the while feeling confident that they can do it.
Algebra 1
Algebra was my first love in math, so much so that my teacher handed me a brochure for math camp so I could spend all summer doing more of it, this time in math theory with my fellow math lovers. I knew then that algebra could inspire amazing things in math if just given the right push. Just as my math teacher inspired me, I want to inspire kids while they're young to love math, starting with algebra, a wonderfully complex mesh of variables and numbers which set me on the path to where I am today.
Algebra 2
Algebra is often the first time students encounter hard math and develop the confidence to move past it. I embraced every new concept and wanted to learn more. I want my students to understand that this isn't just for the SAT but to see how you can use different methods to get the same answer.
Anatomy
My love for anatomy stemmed from a great Biology AP teacher who made sure we understood everything on a med school level about the body. Later on, I relearned it again trying to figure out how to keep myself healthy and again when I certified myself to be a personal trainer.
Business
I'm finishing the last two classes of a business management degree at Drexel which includes classes in financial management, statistics, probability, inventory control, production scheduling, quality control and decision analysis are considered. Topics include linear programming, integer programming, queuing theory, decision theory, probability concepts, and simulation. I am currently waiting for my communications and last financial programming course to show up in the fall.
Calculus
As an electrical engineering major, I had to take calculus twice in high school and twice again in college and remember how hard it was every time. I want to make it easier for future generations so they can turn around and teach others how to understand calculus.
Cello
I've been playing cello since I was first given an instrument in middle school, in quartets, orchestras, state competitions, musicals and individual gigs. In college, I played in Gilbert and Sullivan and Hammerstein productions and eventually became president of the Gilbert and Sullivan group before graduating college. Since then I've been playing in local Gilbert and Sullivan groups wherever I got, and still run the local group in NC where I lived in 2006.
Chemistry
Most people know I got an electrical engineering degree and pursued my love of music and made it a minor in college. What they don't know is that I was one lab away from a chemistry degree too. I still remember everything I learned in high school and college when it comes to chemistry and love teaching kids about it.
College Counseling
I've been helping students apply for college since I graduated from college fifteen years ago, mentoring college age students through mentornet since 2005 and helping classmates with GMAT applications post bachelors. Since then I've helped three students write college essays and one of my students is eagerly preparing for the PSAT as a sophomore. We are already writing college essays and she is very excited about applying next year.
Electrical Engineering
After acing math and science courses in high school, I went on to get an electrical engineering degree at MIT and used it in a career in digital and analog design at IBM for eight years, as well as embedded design at Seabird Electronics and in program management in the Xbox group at Microsoft as of late.
Elementary (K-6th)
I've been tutoring K-6 students at a free drop in tutoring center for the past year, and teaching eight brownies a wide variety of really amazing things for the past two years. This has given me a lot of insight about the challenges that K-6 students face with their schoolwork and quite a bit of experience about how to get them through it. My biggest mantra is not just to guess but to write everything down! My most novel approach was to make a cube out of paper to help a student imagine how to approach numbers.
Elementary Math
Elementary math is the first time you can get kids excited about math and inspire them to be confident in doing it. In the monotony of endless homework problems, kids often forget why they're doing it, but I work with them to make it fun.
Elementary Science
Elementary science is where kids first learn that science is cool and that is why I've always been passionate about reaching kids early to make science exciting for them even if they're doing it as homework. I encourage my students to appreciate the why and how of what they're learning and where to find what they need to know.
English
An amazing English teacher in high school instilled a love for reading great classics and writing great papers on them. I've used that process many times in work to make seemingly ordinary things powerful with the right words. Whatever the medium or the content, I can help you harness your words to do amazing things.
ESL/ESOL
My techniques for ESL students were developed early on when my fifth grade teacher sat me next to a Japanese and a Korean student who didn't know a word of English. By the end of the year, we were fast friends, speaking English like we had been doing it from the beginning. For the past fifteen years, I've been finessing those techniques to work with people all over the world, helping them overcome their language barriers and work with us in perfect harmony.
Fitness
I am a certified personal trainer (CPT) registered by The National Academy of Sports Medicine who trains in resistance, circuit, balance, agility, strength and plyometric workouts five times a week when I'm not taking Hatha and Power Vinyasa bikram yoga courses. After fifteen years of long distance running and track and field, I appreciate how important fitness is and encourage people to start training early to train correctly and love doing it!
GED
I've been helping students with test prep for years and consider the GED to be one of the best places to start. It takes a disciplined approach that makes people reassess how to take the time to do something well, and studying for the GED requires just that.
General Music
Not only do I play piano, cello and violin but I compose in my free time both solos, duets and quartets. I also specialize in sight reading and can play by ear which proves useful for music lessons.
Geometry
My love for geometry came about when my math teacher put me in a geometry competition and I found myself standing on a podium a year later with a blue ribbon for having gotten every question right all year. I loved drawing the world as shapes, angles and lines and went on to apply it to study molecules in chemistry and buildings in architecture. My math teacher inspired me to see geometry as more than just some questions on the SAT, but a pictorial view of the world around us.
GMAT
In the past ten years, I've seen many people apply to business school and do amazing things with their MBA's. It all starts with the GMAT which is not easy and was never intended to be. I help them master the math questions and review their essays for business school so they too can get into the school and career of their dreams.
Grammar
An amazing teacher in high school instilled a love for proper grammar that I've applied to everything I write, and now I espouse his ideas for proper writing whenever I can, starting with his comma rules, subject verb structure and especially misplaced references. Using good grammar is an ongoing pursuit but it almost always make your writing better and that's a good thing.
GRE
I've been helping people with the GRE since I took it as a soon to be grad student in college. The basic premise of it has not changed much over the years even with the new revision but requires a strong foundation in math to do well. With practice, you too can do well on the GRE!
Logic
I discovered my love for logic in high school when I spent an entire summer immersing myself in theoretical math, proving obscure facts like 1+1=2. In geometry I aced all the proof quizzes and found it easy to apply to calculus and physics as well. Even now my favorite puzzles are logic equations, even if they are in the form of circuits these days.
Microsoft Excel
Some say that Excel can do anything, and aside from providing the basic functions of life, it probably can. The more you use it, the more powerful it becomes. I help people understand what they can use Excel to do, given their needs and show them additional features that make it better.
Microsoft Outlook
I've been using Outlook since its initial forms in 1997 at Texas Instruments up to now at Microsoft, where I can work the latest and greatest versions, thanks to my husband who has to test them all. It's made vast improvements, which I believe everyone can take advantage of if they are aware of it.
Microsoft PowerPoint
Powerpoint used to be an art finessed by management in the workplace but now middle schoolers are being taught how to use it early on as a more practical application of posterboard. It not only requires an eye for presentation and simplicity but also color, style and organization. Learning this early is a good skill for life and with practice, your child can harness the power of PowerPoint as well.
Microsoft Project
I've been using Project in my career in program management for twelve years now, managing schedules and milestones for all my projects. I now have the latest and greatest versions, thanks to my husband who has to test them all as an employee at Microsoft. It's made great improvements and is essential to my career. It is also a hard requirement for program management if one wants to get into it.
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is the foundation of basic office skills in the workplace and a primary skill in high school to write papers. It requires both an thoughtful, organized approach and strong typing skills not often found in a world that prefers texting over emails. I show my students how to find their way to writing papers well and typing efficiently so they can write well, electronically.
Organic Chemistry
After spending my early high school years performing biology and chemistry experiments, I went work in an organic and inorganic chemistry lab the summer year after my junior year and continued my chemistry adventure at MIT, where I was one lab short of minoring in chemistry (electrical engineering and computer science ended up taking 60% of my time). My first love is and always was organic chemistry thanks to an amazing Professor Kemp at MIT and I want other students to love it as much as I do.
Physical Science
Science curriculum have come a long way since the traditional biology-chemistry-physics sequence when I was in school. Now physical science attempts to teach it all as a basic foundation first and I find that most students just don't have the time to ask the questions they need to master the concepts. I allow students to ask those questions and think deeply about the answers so they appreciate what they're learning.
Piano
Having played since age four, I've used my love for piano to play concerts, compete on the state level, learn music theory, violin, cello and even taken music composition classes up to the advanced level in college. Being able to sight read and play by ear makes teaching students easier to adapt my lessons to the student.
Prealgebra
I have been tutoring high school students in algebra for years and discovered that a strong foundation in prealgebra can make or break their success and confidence when they get there. I now have a summer series that establishes the basics that I recommend for anyone going into eighth or ninth grade if they want to be ready for algebra which can be fun if you're ready.
Precalculus
My precalculus teacher did such a good job teaching me my junior year that I went into calculus, wanting to learn more. Thanks to her, I still have a full understanding of how to use my calculator to graph anything and find its roots, asymptotes, and max/minima on paper at the same time. These concepts have stayed with me all these years and I want to pass them onto high school students so they master it as well.
Probability
I studied probability in college, applying it to my electrical engineering studies and work as I advanced through my career. In the past nine years, I've also taken four master's classes using probability and used special software to analyze large amounts of data. It all starts with the basics that get you through the SAT and AP classes. Whether it's on the high school, college or master's level, I can help you understand the concepts you need.
Proofreading
I started proofreading essays for classmates in high school applying to college and resumes in college to help my classmates apply for their first job. Later on, I started mentoring college students and reviewed their resumes. Then I became a tutor and helped more high school students get into college by editing their essays. Now I've added master's level papers to the mix, applying my own experience as a master's student to help them make their wording better. Whatever the content, I am happy to review and help make your writing the best it can be.
PSAT
For years, I've been helping high school students navigate the path from PSAT to SAT and ACT in the quest to get into college and believe that the PSAT is the first litmus test of how ready they are. It is important to prepare them mentally for the process more than academically, starting with using watches to manage their time and eating the right things to manage their energy levels. I can help your student figure out the right approach to test prep, starting with the PSAT.
Reading
One of my foremost passions in life is reading the greatest classics from the early days. My earliest memories in childhood was getting new books from the school and local library and reading them anywhere I could. If you start early, you develop the patience to read the longer books assigned by teachers and the critical reading passages in the SAT/ACT Verbal sections. Reading with a critical eye also helps you write more effectively.
SAT Math
Like many of my fellow engineers at MIT, I got into college with a perfect SAT math and SAT II Level II C score. Looking back, it was due to a series of teachers giving me a strong foundation in algebra, geometry, statistics and trigonometry that got me there. Since then, the SAT Math has not gotten any harder but the emphasis on math required for SAT has changed. I believe that teaching the basic foundations beforehand will help students master the SAT Math as those before them have.
Sewing
I've been cross stitching (without patterns) for fifteen years and counting now and hand stitching my own designs and hems for my own clothing since I was 12. I just love the creativity of needle and thread! Recently I've been helping my girl scouts by teaching them the art of using sewing machines and would love to resurrect the love of sewing for more kids if given the opportunity.
Spelling
Communication is the way of the world and misspelling words along the way unfortunately hinders us from doing that well. My love for spelling started in middle school when I made it to the state spelling bee and continued as I edited papers in high school, essays for college, resumes for job interviews and every day emails to colleagues. Spelling is an incredibly useful skill if people pick it up early on in life. Word won't do everything for us.
SPSS
Most people try to do most things in Excel until they get access to a SPSS license and find everything amazingly simple and profound in one tool. However, there's an art to using SPSS and only people who have used it can show you how to use it well. I used it in four master's classes at Drexel and can show you what SPSS can do too.
SSAT
I've been helping students study for the SSAT for years in the quest to get into private schools and find it's an early exercise to taking the SAT and ACT later on in life. With a solid foundation in math, a consistent approach to reading critically, and lots of practice, you can conquer the SSAT and go to the school of your dreams!
Statistics
I started studying probability and statistics in college during my electrical engineering studies and solidified it with four master's classes recently, applying it to Managerial Statistics and Operations Research using special software. Statistics is incredibly helpful in my work so I want to prepare high school kids for what is to come. I'm thrilled that kids can now take AP Statistics as a math class and can help establish concepts well before they go to college.
Study Skills
Since tutoring students at the library and through WyzAnt, I've been taking my students through the process of using a planner, flash cards and planning out their homework so they can focus on the hardest work like papers and projects for their time at home. Already two of my students do most of their homework well before our sessions in the afternoon and my current students are using my services to catch up on being out of commission for two months due to illness. I have been an engineering program manager for twelve years, and have an MIT degree
TOEFL
My experience in teaching English to non-native speakers started in fifth grade when my teacher placed me next to a Korean and a Japanese student with no English. By the end of the year, we were fast friends, speaking English fluently. Since then, I've used those skills to work with people all over the world in my work for the past fifteen years, and developed many strategies to bridge the language gap so we both the speak the same language in the end. It's an amazing process and I love doing it.
Trigonometry
Most people pick up trigonometry in their quest to find angles in geometry problems in their homework or the SAT. I fell in love in it when my teacher drew a triangle on the board and told us to find the height. It took four of us to do it, but we figured it out. I realized that people can not only love math but they can work together to do some amazing things in it. Trigonometry may be the basics of what we see in math, but it can teach us a lot and I want to show kids everything it can do.
Vocabulary
These days, how we communicate is everything and our word choice defines how we present ourselves to the world. I picked up my vocabulary early on studying for the spelling bee in middle school and never stopped learning new words. It not only helped me with the SAT but continues to improve my writing every day.
Other Redmond, WA Tutors
Deanna L.
Redmond, WA
Electrical engineering major and music lover with MIT degree