MATTHEW G.

Matthew graduated from the University of Alberta’s Campus St Jean with a major in Social Studies and a minor in French Language Arts. He has taught French Immersion in Edmonton and Calgary for over 5 years, and has served as a tutor for over 10 years.

Today, Matthew is a law student at the University of Calgary. He remains highly passionate in working with students and helping them achieve their goals!

OLIVIA M.

In 2019, Olivia graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History. In 2021, she completed her Bachelor of Education degree from Queen’s University with Intermediate/Senior qualifications, as well as a concentration in Exceptional Learners. She is looking forward to be working as an Occasional Teacher for the Toronto Catholic District School Board, come September.

She has considerable experience working with ELL students, and intends on taking Additional Qualification courses in Teaching English Language Learners, as well as Special Education and Primary/Junior courses in the near future. She has taught for both the Catholic and Public School Boards across the GTA, as well as virtual school settings. Her goal as an educator is to lead with compassion, tailoring instructional strategies to suit the individual needs and learning styles of her students. Olivia genuinely loves to learn, and hopes her enthusiasm will inspire her students to succeed. She values the unique perspective that every student brings to the lesson, and strives to create a positive rapport with every session. When Olivia is not teaching, you can find her playing the piano, finding her zen doing yoga, or spending quality time with family & friends!

TAYLOR F.

Taylor is an Ontario Certified Teaching Candidate, currently finishing her Master of Teaching program at the University of Toronto. Taylor has also won a Canada Graduate Scholarship for her Master’s research regarding integrating relevant and modern teaching into the humanities curriculum in Ontario. Prior to this, Taylor attended the University of Toronto in Scarborough to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and History. In high school, Taylor discovered her love for the environment through completing a Specialist High Skills Major program that prompted her on the path to explore environmental education with students. Taylor has worked for a variety of recreational and residence programs for about eight years which was guided by a hands-on and inquiry based learning model. Taylor has worked with students from ages 4-25 and is committed to the belief that every student has the capability to succeed. Taylor has also worked for Enbridge Gas and the Municipality of Clarington, allowing her to bring in organizational and leadership techniques to pass onto students to aid them in their academic and social success. From her love for hiking and traveling to her curious loyalty to cheese and bagels, Taylor looks for opportunities to make learning fun and palatable for students of all ages.

Nikki M.

Nikki has an Honours Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies from the University of Guelph, where she worked alongside a professor as a TA during her final semester. She also has over 7+ years of experience working with children, ages 2-15, with and without special needs as a preschool teacher, tutor, daycare worker, camp counsellor, and aquatics instructor.

Nikki also has experience working as an academic coach and helping students with their note-taking, organization, and executive function skills. She is qualified to teach all subjects at the Primary Junior Level (PreK-6) and specializes in English, Law, Politics, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the Intermediate, Senior and Post-Secondary Levels.

Most importantly, Nikki is patient as she understands that every student has their own pace and unique way of learning. While continuing her professional development, she also enjoys swimming, volunteering and travelling.

RAYMOND W.

Raymond is a second-year university student at the University of  British Columbia, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations. Raymond has professionally and informally worked as a tutor, teaching students aged between 7 to 18. Raymond grew up in Guangzhou, China, and is fluent in English and Mandarin. Allowing him to teach all of his classes in both languages, ensuring and guaranteeing that his students  may understand the materials best. As Raymond transferred to Canada at the age of 13, he understands the struggles of learning English as a second language and has devoted all of his time to ensuring that students may perform to their best extent.

Raymond has been academically strong in English and social sciences, so he has always been keen to assist his friends and classmates in developing their English skills. He found joy in teaching and seeing the academic performance of his classmates grow tremendously. Such an experience had grown into Raymond’s desire to teach English and other social science classes. Raymond, although relatively young, has worked with a vast myriad of students in tutoring. He has worked with university students, secondary school students, elementary school students and preschool students. He has experience tutoring students from Simon Fraser University, SAT preparations, IB and other high school subjects. Raymond forms deep connections with his students because of their relatively close age range and tends to feel more like a friend of the students rather than a teacher.

Overall, Raymond perfectly balances friendliness with professionalism and is an excellent choice for creating dedicated lesson plans to assist your child in their academic development.

Mirza B.

Mirza completed his Master of Arts degree in Political Science (with a focus in political theory and international relations) at McGill University. Prior to that, he graduated from the University of Toronto with a double major in Political Science and International Development Studies. He is currently working as a legal assistant at an immigration and refugee law firm. He has previous experience as a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant at McGill University.

Mirza is an attentive, patient, and passionate educator. He seeks to demonstrate to students the value in what they are learning and its transformative potential in their lives, meaning he works to make learning content relatable to his students. He also understands the value of individual learning and therefore approaches a student’s education according to their specific needs. His prior educational and professional experiences have equipped him to support students studying history, law, politics, philosophy, and English.

Anna M.

Anna is excited to be a part of the Prep Academy Team. She is a graduate of the University of Windsor’s six-year Bachelor of Education program and has additional qualifications in Special Education and Mathematics.

As an experienced teacher, Anna is proficient in grasping new course material and supporting students through natural changes in classroom routines. While teaching, her students benefit from a variety of external stimuli (multi-levelled books, manipulatives, charts, graphs, and display of student’s work) which is greatly beneficial for her student’s academic growth.

While tutoring, Anna develops an inclusive model to integrate students with exceptionalities into programs with their age-appropriate peers and discovers new ways of integrating academic theory into teaching. She provides enriched programs in all subjects to meet the intellectual needs of her learners. Using her expertise from an elementary and secondary level, she provides a high quality of tutoring while differentiating instruction to meet individual needs and interests.

Kelly O.

Kelly is an Ontario-certified Intermediate/Senior teacher, who with a Double Major in Psychology and Political Science as well as a degree in Education. She has received different scholarships in her programs including the McLaughlin College Council Award and the Cornerstone Leadership in Action Awards. These awards recognized Kelly’s exceptional leadership ability and the attributes that she embodies in her interactions with students including integrity, passion, innovation, and creativity. Kelly’s teaching practices are guided by her practicum experiences where she Kelly observed and adopted a multitude of practical classroom strategies for working with students in Grade 9-12. Her teaching practices also derive from her 5 years of experience as a private tutor and a Peer Tutoring Coordinator. As a tutor, she helped teach students from JK to Grade 12 with a range of learning needs and catered her lessons to help them meet the learning goals and develop effective study strategies. Kelly believes that the key to developing critical thinking skills that extend beyond the classroom, is helping students adopt a problem posing model of education where teachers and students co-construct and investigate lessons as well as seek out hands-on learning opportunities. Outside of work, she is interested in ice-skating, canoeing, learning new languages, painting, sketching, watching action comedies and reading.

CHRIS W.

Christopher has an undergraduate degree from Queen’s University in History with a minor in Geography. He obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s of Education from the University of Ottawa. Following his master’s, Chris taught English and Creative Writing for two years in Canmore, Alberta. He has worked as a teacher and guidance counsellor at the University of Toronto Schools since 2019.

Chris has extensive tutoring experience in a wide range of subjects and grade levels. He firmly believes that all students can succeed.

IAN R.

Ian grew up in Calgary, completing a BA and MA in Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, before moving to Toronto, where he completed his PhD at the University of Toronto’s Department for the Study of Religion in 2017. Along the way, Ian also studied Sanskrit at the University of Pune in India and worked for several years in the research department of a Bay Street financial services firm.
Ian has been teaching at the university-level since 2009, in the areas of Religion and History, most recently at the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario. He is passionate about teaching students to read, write, and, most importantly, think critically about the world around them. Seeing students master their course work is amazing; seeing students become effective, organized ,and dynamic young men and women is even better.
In his spare time, Ian enjoys reading spy novels, the occasional Netflix binge, running, playing basketball and coaching his twin boys’ baseball team.