WARDA S.
Warda is a third-year Mechatronics Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. She has completed multiple internships in various engineering fields from Manufacturing Analyst at Centra Industries, to Software Assurance at i4i, to Sales Engineer at HTS. She is currently on her fifth coop term as a Mechanical Designer at Smith and Andersen. Besides work and school, Warda loves to volunteer and spends her time giving back to the community. She has accumulated over 150 volunteer hours, through participation at summer camps for kids with disabilities and at animal shelters. Warda has prior experience mentoring kids from her coop position at i4i, where she discovered her passion for tutoring. She believes in being a role model to her students, helping them develop both hard and soft skills, that will be beneficial for their future. And when she is not busy working, studying or teaching, she loves to paint and read!
Darien K.
Darien has been teaching for 5 years. He also has a Psychology degree and is certified by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. He developed a Mindfulness Committee throughout his school’s community to better support mental health initiatives.
Darien has the experience to understand and tailor instruction to the many different learning styles, abilities and backgrounds. He has taught people with various and complex disabilities for 10+ years, is comfortable teaching various levels of English Language Learners and can teach foundational knowledge through Indigenous perspective.
As a teacher his focus is on an well rounded educational plan that consists of physical and mental wellness, cultivating self-worth, morals, values and supporting students’ expressions of identity. He received multiple scholarships based on athletic merit as a member of the University’s Cross Country Running team. He loves to take his dog paddle boarding and hiking. When they are not in the sunniest spots, he’ll likely be found playing Arceus or Zelda on his Nintendo Switch.
Justin M.
Justin Mejia is an OCT Qualified Intermediate senior (grades7-12) teacher with the qualifications and ability to teach English, Socials, History, Philosophy and French. He possesses an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and English from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Education from York University.
Over the last several years, Mr. Mejia has worked full time teaching in class Secondary English, Socials, and French in British Columbia and in Ontario. He also has had experience working as a tutor and as a Youth worker. This experience, combined with his philosophical background, has given Mr. Mejia the ability to understand what is necessary in achieving student success. By creating an inclusive, engaging, and supportive learning environment, and by connecting students’ personal lives and experiences to the course content, Mr. Mejia believes that we not only enable students to achieve their intellectual, social, and physical potential, we also encourage them to develop into responsible, compassionate citizens that are prepared to meet the challenges of our ever changing world.
Mia D.
EN: Mia has her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Educational Psychology from McGill University and has worked with kids for over three years. Her favourite part of teaching is seeing her student’s hard work pay off! It is great to see them understand the material and feel confident in their work.
FR:Mia détient un baccalauréat en sociologie avec une mineure en psychologie de l’éducation de l’Université McGill et travaille avec des enfants depuis plus de trois ans. Sa partie préférée de l’enseignement est de voir le travail acharné de son élève porter ses fruits ! C’est formidable de les voir comprendre la matière et se sentir confiants dans leur travail.
Samantha F.
Samantha began her love of teaching at 17 years old when she became a volunteer assistant in a primary classroom. After high school, she attended the University of Toronto where she studied philosophy, history, and sociology. After completing her undergraduate, she took a big leap and moved to South Korea where she became a full-time kindergarten teacher. Although she did not make it as a K-pop star in South Korea, she did come to realize that teaching is one of her biggest passions. After her year abroad she came back to Canada and decided to become an ELL teacher at a school downtown, teaching adult students coming to Canada to learn English. During this time, she also became a private tutor working with students ages 7-11 who attended schools in the TDSB. She worked with students who had different exceptionalities and it was through this job that she realized that teaching is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. After two years, she decided to take another big leap and complete her Master of Teaching at OISE, University of Toronto. Samantha is delighted to officially be an Ontario Certified Teacher. In her lessons, Samantha takes the time to get to know every individual student in order to create individualized plans that tap into the interests, passions, and needs of the learner. She loves to incorporate educational games, technology, art, and movement into her lessons in order to make the lessons more enjoyable, less rigid, and tap into multiple ways of learning. On her days off you can find Samantha watercolour painting, getting lost around the city, trying not to overwater her plants, and starting a new book before finishing the last one.
Ari S.
Ari completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences with a minor in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Western University. She was the recipient of the Faculty Subject Award at Western University for achieving the highest grade in Religious Studies at Western University. Also, Ari completed an Honours Bachelors Degree in Arts from Thompson Rivers University graduating with High Distinction. Previously, she volunteered as a tutor for high school students in Science (Grade 9), Chemistry and Biology (Grade 10-12) at Mississauga Secondary School. During her undergrad, she tutored multiple students in University-level Writing and Psychology courses. Also, she assisted tutors at Mathnasium. In her spare time, Ari enjoys reading, cooking and hiking. Ari plans to start Teachers College this fall.
JONAH S.
Jonah is a communicator above all else. He is well versed in dramatic arts, giving him insight into social skills and how to convey ideas thoughtfully through essay writing and presentation planning. English language arts, creative writing, philosophy, and most humanities courses will be given a unique spin under his tutelage.
JULIA S.
Julia is a passionate and enthusiast teacher. She a graduate of the Masters of Teaching at OISE. Julia is currently working with the TDSB as an occasional teacher. A Toronto native, Julia lived for seven years in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There she attended the University of King’s College and Dalhousie and graduated with First Class Honours in Theatre and English. Before pursuing her Masters, Julia worked in Theatre on both the administrative and creative side. Her favourite role was as director where she found immense joy in discovering the unique gifts and perspectives of every team member and fostering these gifts through collaboration and play. She finds this same joy in teaching; Julia loves the process of understanding her students and helping them see how they can extend their gifts to every subject. She rejects deficit-based thinking and believes academic growth is a matter of unlocking the inherent potential in each student. For her Masters, Julia is conducting research into successful and total inclusion of neurodivergent students and she is passionate about re-imagining how we support students with intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities.
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.
ALEC M.
Alec is an Ontario-certified History/Social Sciences teacher and current M.A. History student at the University of Toronto. Before moving to Toronto, he completed his Bachelor of Education at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Grade 4-10 History. Before that, he graduated from Queen’s University in 2016 with an honour’s degree in History and World Religion. He began teaching ESL to students of all ages in 2016 while living in Europe. He speaks French and a little Spanish and loves learning new languages. He has taught Grade 3-4 Core French, Grade 7/8 Language Arts, History, and Health, and Grade 6/7 English Literacy in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB). He also taught various subjects – primarily English, Social Studies, and Physical Education – from kindergarten to Grade 10 in the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE). In his spare time, he loves to play music with his siblings, especially guitar and bass. He also loves to play and coach basketball and is a huge Toronto Raptors fan. He has some suggestions for how the team could be improved but does not have the influence to secure a meeting with management. Since 2010, he has been a support worker for an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their family. What he loves most about teaching is seeing students gain confidence in themselves.