Griffin W.

Born and raised in Montreal, Griffin recently graduated from the Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at Carleton University. Prior to his two years in Ottawa, he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at McGill University in 2022. During his time at Carleton, he was a teaching assistant, tasked with grading essays and exams, organizing and running discussion groups, and teaching lessons. These experiences, as both successful student and successful teaching assistant provided him with the knowledge of how young students can best succeed from both sides of the teacher-student perspective.

From an early age, Griffin had a passion for history and politics, even attempting to memorize the list of Canadian Prime Ministers in first grade. This passion eventually led him to double major in History and Political Science at McGill. At John Abbott College and McGill, his broad curiosity regarding historical and political events, along with new encounters with political theory and political economy, developed into a particular focus on the Soviet Union, which would come to serve as the foundation of his master’s thesis.

Outside of his academic pursuits, he is an avid hockey player and fan. A lifelong skater and dedicated supporter of the Boston Bruins, his other sporting interests include the NFL’s New England Patriots, the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire, and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes.
When he’s not reading history, attending an Als game, or on the ice, Griffin can often be found at the movie theatre or staying up late into the night watching and analyzing live election coverage, both domestic and international.

GRIFFIN H.

Griffin graduated from Humber College in 2022, receiving a Bachelor’s of Music with honours. Griffin is currently enrolled at the University of Toronto completing his Master’s of Teaching, where he is set to graduate in April 2025. Griffin is 24 years old and has been teaching music and mentoring students for over 5 years and has experience working with students of all ages.

Griffin graduated from Kelowna Secondary School in 2018 receiving a diploma with honours, as well as the Holland-Rusk Award, the BC Achievement Scholarship, and the BC District Scholarship for Fine Arts. During his time at Humber College, Griffin was awarded the Bernie Piltch Memorial Scholarship and the Yamaha Canada Music Award.

Griffin has recently completed two placements in TDSB schools and has extensive knowledge of the Ontario curriculum, with a focus on the Junior/Intermediate division.

 

Andre T.

Andre T. is a professional academic tutor who holds most of his degrees from the University of Texas system in Far East Asian History and Foreign Languages. He is also currently enrolled as a Doctoral student at the University of Phoenix, pursuing an Ed.D in Education with a specialization in Virtual Reality Educational Technology. Andre has had the distinct privilege of studying all over the world. His specialty is in Far East Asian dialects, having studied extensively in China, Japan, and S. Korea. In his free time he is an avid enthusiast of the great outdoors enjoying hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, etc. As a martial artist, with 45+ years of experience, he serves as an adjunct/civilian instructor for law enforcement officers in self-defense tactics. He served seven years as a law enforcement officer. As an amateur Musician, he plays several instruments but his absolute favorite is playing blues music which he plays on his beloved guitar, Blu Eponine. Music, Reading, and Art are also very great passions of his. He is a huge fan of Far East Asian Cinema. He is quite the ‘otaku’ which is Japanese for a Manga and Anime fan. Since 1999, he has instructed courses in every area of the US, Far East Asia, and various Military Histories.

Andre is also an Advanced Facilitator and Faculty for the College of Humanities University of Phoenix.  He is presently certified to teach in multiple University level courses of US and World History, World Civilization, Philosophy, Political Science, Economics, and Psychology. He has collaborated and developed courses and curriculums for all Undergraduate and Graduate levels and written and developed exams for all college-level courses under these disciplines.

Languages: English (Native), Japanese (Conversational), Spanish (Basic), Chinese (Mandarin, conversational).
Hobbies / Activities: Martial arts, Hiking, Camping, Fishing, Weightlifting, Drawing, and playing Blues guitar.
Books: Enjoys all books but especially those in his areas of expertise!
Movies: A dedicated fan of the cinema being produced in the Far East. A huge fan of Jean Gabin Films as well as Akira Kurosawa. A huge fan of Hollywood film noir.
Music: 80’s New Wave and 90’s Grunge! Love it!

 

Lia L.

Lia graduated from the Sciences Po Paris & University of British Columbia Dual Degree program (B.A.), majoring in Politics & Government and International Relations. She is currently a student in McGill’s Faculty of Law’s B.C.L./J.D. program.

Throughout her multidisciplinary experience, Lia has gained extensive knowledge in History, Political Science, Philosophy, and English Language. She also previously worked as an Academic Consultant in Vancouver with experience in interview coaching and supporting personal statement writing and experiential skills. Coupled with Lia’s expansive extracurricular involvement in her student experience, she is equipped to provide insight on creating holistic student resumes for competitive school applications.

Further, Lia has tutored students ranging from Pre-K to University levels and is able to quickly build a strong rapport with her students!

Parmida E.

Parmida is a JD/BCL student at the McGill Faculty of Law. Previously, she received her M.A. and B.A. Honours at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. She has over seven years of teaching experience, including in course design, seminar facilitation, essay writing, and research methods.

She has also worked as a professional copywriter and marketing expert, and enjoys advising students on business fundamentals, marketing, and adjacent topics.

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.

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.

Benjamin E.

 

Benjamin is a second year university law student with a cumulative 9.0 CGPA. He has over 7 years of tutoring and teaching experience in English, French, History and Math. His patient and calculated approach to teaching enables him to connect with his students and ensure success. A rudimentary example of his approach to studying includes reviewing the class material and rephrasing/reconceptualizing the material which the student finds most difficult to digest. The follow-up technique that proves successful time and time again is the calculated use of practice exams. Recreating the near-exact conditions in an exam setting enables the student to become accustomed to the stress of that environment and use it to sharpen their answers against the clock. Importantly, Benjamin’s tutoring goals are four-fold.

1. Ensuring that the student understands the course material completely and can reproduce their understandings in any exam format with excellence.

2. Full transparency with parents/guardians about student’s progress.

3. Giving students all the tools to study and complete exams and sharpening those tools to the point where their execution is flawless, and his assistance is no longer required.

4. Helping students realize they are more than capable of excelling well beyond their current capabilities, and certainly beyond those of any exam or assignment.

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.