Carolyn B.

Carolyn is a certified Primary/Junior teacher graduating from Western University specializing in Mathematics through the Arts. She was born in London, England, has lived in Tokyo, Japan and been in Toronto for 18 years now. Carolyn completed her Undergraduate Degree in Commerce at Queen’s University, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Management. Carolyn is a lifelong learner as she completes an IB educator certificate in teaching and learning, and several workshops to expand her coding skills.

Carolyn has loved working with children and was inspired to pursue her Bachelor of Education after working at an overnight summer camp for many years, and from her volunteer work in the classroom. She has supported students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 in literacy development and math in numerous tutoring roles. Carolyn is continuously motivated by her students’ curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. Their energy makes her excited about teaching and building strong relationships with her students, and inspires her to bring relatable content into each session. She has a love of math and hopes to demonstrate the creative side of numbers when problem solving. Carolyn can often be found spending time outside, playing sports or curled up in her hammock reading a good book.

NIOUSHA D.

Niousha started her post-secondary studies in Mechanical Engineering. Later due to her enthusiasm for teaching, she switched programs and graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Science with honors in Mathematics for Education. She completed her Bachelor of Education in the Intermediate/Senior grade levels at Nipissing University. She completed her teaching internship in the Embank Junior Academy, where she taught in a split Grade 7 and 8 classroom with a few students working at grade level 4 and 6 for math. During this time, she voluntarily stayed in the classroom during all lunch and snack breaks to give personalized one-on-one support and help students who had fallen behind in math catch up. While completing her undergraduate degree, Niousha was given an opportunity to tutor a group of grade 8 gifted students to prepare for the Math Kangaroo Competition. Knowing that the students sacrificed their weekends to be in her classes, she filled the class time with all kinds of fun games and activities such as pretend auctions and dice rolling competitions for learning probability. Before Niousha started tutoring, she worked as a Mad Scientist for a year and taught tons of safe science activities including explosions, launching a rocket, and making slime. Through her experiences, Niousha has developed a deep passion for working with children and youth and guiding them to reach their full potential while having fun. Alongside having years of teaching experience at primary and intermediate levels, Niousha also tutored students at university and high school levels where she ran personalized interactive lessons. Niousha believes that education should adapt to students’ readiness and interests in order to enhance their curiosity and confidence and that it is the teacher’s job to learn about their students, make these adaptations and engage them in an effective learning environment. In her spare time, Niousha enjoys painting, sculpting, and resin art, as well as spending time with her friends and family.

AZHAR H.

Azhar is a graduate of the University of Waterloo with an Engineering degree in Mechatronics. Azhar has been working with Prep Academy for the past 3 years and he has extensive experience tutoring students and a keen interest in mathematics and science. Azhar believes that patience and enthusiasm are extremely important in helping a student learn.

VATSAL D.

Vatsal is a Data Scientist by profession and a passionate teacher and learner. He is currently working as a Data and Diagnostics Engineer at an engineering company based in Mississauga. One of his great achievements have been to be a part of the engineering team that was behind launching world’s first ever hydrogen power train for commercial service in Germany. Recently they set a Guinness world record for longest distance travelled by a hydrogen powered train without refuelling. In the past is worked as a Data Scientist at TD Bank where he was responsible for building analytics capabilities for capital markets. Vatsal is a gold medalist in Mechanical Engineering and completed his master’s in Industrial Engineering from University of Toronto in 2019. As a master’s student he has been a Teaching Assistant for undergraduate level courses in mathematics and statistics. Being passionate about teaching he was also engaged in tutoring high school kids, from Ontario grade 7th through 12th, and has volunteered for NGOs focused on educating underprivileged kids. Vatsal believes in holistic and character-building education which enables students to connect theory with the real world around them, and follows a pedagogy that helps students connect the dots. Apart from teaching, Vatsal loves to hike and is ambitious about learning to fly a fixed-wing glider. He is also trying to lead a car-free life to do his part at curbing pollution and help our environment heal itself.

JORDAN B.

Jordan graduated from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (currently known Ontario Tech University) with a Bachelor of Science with a focus of Physics and Biology. He completed his Bachelor of Education the following year. During his time in University, he worked as a cashier, a scribe for visually impaired students, and a tutor. Upon graduation, he moved to England where he began teaching and investing in his true love of traveling. When he wasn’t jet-hopping to different European countries, he was teaching Science to all levels of Secondary School (Grade 7 – Grade 11). Additionally he taught A-level Physics (similar to Grade 12 – first year university level) as well as working in a Special Education Centre for students with Autism. After 3.5 years of teaching abroad, Jordan decided it was time to come home and now teaches with the Durham District School Board. Since joining the board; he has had 3 full year long term contracts – two of which were in elementary. His Junior experience focussed on Grade 6 EQAO preparation. He currently teaches Grade 10 Science and Math and Grade 11 and University Physics.

Typically, you can find Jordan practising Yoga or working out at the gym (pre-quarantine days), playing video games, or taking a stroll around the lakefront at Kew and Woodbine Beach.

Jordan continues to pursue professional development; recently completing an Additional Qualification in Intermediate Math. Jordan has also received Additional Qualifications for Primary and Junior teaching. Next he will be branching out to obtain Senior level Math.

SARAH L.

Sarah has over 20 years teaching experience with high school students in a variety of subjects, including mathematics, physics and science.

RYAN H.

Ryan is currently pursuing his MBA in Accounting and Finance, and holds his Bachelor of Business Administration (Distinction) with a major in Accounting. He has his FMVA and CBCA finance designations, and is a published financial and accounting author.

SHABNAM S.

Shabnam is a theoretical physicist with a PhD from Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Italy. She has worked as a researcher in different universities and countries. Before moving to Toronto, she lived in Singapore for more than six years and worked as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Quantum Technologies. She has taught undergrad students at universities such as Bilkent University, National University of Singapore and Yale-NUS college. In early 2019 she transitioned from academia to entrepreneurship. Currently she is a Co-Founder and Director of a start-up in Toronto.

In addition to her teaching experience at university level, she was a Math and Physics tutor right after finishing her high school until she became a PhD student. She has her way of simplifying scientific subjects for students to help them learn gradually and develop their logical thinking and problem solving abilities. Even in her entrepreneurial role she enjoys working with the interns a lot.

Shabnam has travelled to several countries and has friends from many different nationalities. Canada is the fifth country that she lives in. In her free time she enjoys cooking, exercising and dancing. When music plays she cannot stand still.

AMBER C.

Amber is an Ontario certified Primary, Junior, and Intermediate Teacher. She grew up in Vancouver and Toronto and earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto. As well, she obtained a Bachelor of Education at the University of Ottawa with great distinction, and she is currently pursuing a Master’s of Education in Studies in Teaching and Learning. Amber grew up with a deep love of teaching, language, and culture, and took the opportunity to continue teaching as her career. She has taught students from K-12 for the past 7 years and has diverse experience in teaching ESL students, students with multiple exceptionalities, and as well as various subjects such as Language Arts, Math, Science, Geography, and Visual Arts. She has also tutored standardized exams such as SSAT, IELTS, and College Admission Assessments and taught English in South Korea. As a professional mentor, she continues to develop instructional strategies for working with children and accommodating their needs. Amber also enjoys learning about each of her students’ interests and strengths to help students learn effectively.

NEIL P.

Neil is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, graduating with a BSc in Biology, Statistics, and French. Neil has a passion for the sciences and math and hopes to pursue a Masters’s degree in Biostatistics or Bioinformatics. He has worked as a research assistant and a lab manager for various biological science labs for the university.

He enjoys biking and film and is currently in the process of publishing his undergraduate thesis on the ecological effects of invasive species.

Neil has always enjoyed assisting peers, students, and colleagues in achieving their academic goals. There is nothing more rewarding to him than seeing others succeed!