TESSA S.

Tessa Soleski is a BC Certified Teacher and has recently moved to Vancouver. She grew up in Windsor Ontario, moving to Peterborough Ontario to complete an Undergraduate Degree in English and Psychology . She also completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Education. Tessa grew up with a deep love of travel and took the opportunity to explore the world following the completion of her degrees. As an oldest sibling to 3, Tessa has always been passionate about helping others. It is through teaching that Tessa has been able to foster her love of Literature, Social Sciences and working with kids and teenages. In her spare time Tessa works one-on-one with children ranging from 6 years through highschool. She has supported the improvement of their reading, writing and vocabulary skills in both French and English. Tessa believes that by building a strong relationship with her students she is better able to meet their needs and grow their learning. As a mentor she continues to develop strategies for working with children. She finds these experiences enjoyable and extremely rewarding.

Tessa graduated from Trent University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology. After her teaching degree she has spent the last two years teaching a wide variety of subjects to students of all ages, levels and backgrounds. Being bilingual has had so many benefits, not only during her travels but also professionally! She understands how frustrating learning a new language can be and has found ways to make it as enjoyable as possible for her students.

Alongside having years of tutoring experience, Tessa also tutors students where she fosters engaging, personalized one-on-one interactive lessons. Additionally, Tessa has an AQ (additional qualification) in special education which has deepened her understanding and strategies for her students of diverse abilities. Tessa truly believes that engaging students using their curiosity and interests is crucial in helping them gain the confidence they require to succeed. In her spare time, Tessa enjoys being surrounded by nature, which is what brought her to this beautiful province! She also enjoys reading and spending time with friends and family, and dogs.

ORLIN V.

Dr. Vakarelov was professor in Philosophy and Information Studies at Duke University, where he taught classes in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He also taught for the UBC Master of Data Science program, as well as for the University of Arizona, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Toronto, and Humber College. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Cognitive Science from the University of Arizona, an M.S. in Logic and Computation from Carnegie Mellon University, and an M.A and B.Sc.+– in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Toronto. After home-schooling his son during high school in Vancouver, and after sending him off to join the class of 2027 at Cornell University this coming fall, Dr. Vakarelov will be able to help other students improve their school experience and support them in their preparation for and transition to university. When not teaching, Dr. Vakarelov runs a technology company that develops web software applications.

KRYSTAL D.

Krystal Dos Santos is an Ontario Certified Teacher. She originally went to school to become an editor and completed an undergraduate degree double majoring in English and History, with a minor in Latin. She then got her publishing certificate and worked as an editor for a while. Though she liked her job, she often had very little contact with the authors, and wanted to be able to work with writers more and coach and improve their writing skills. She decided to switch gears and go back to school for her Masters of Teaching at OISE, University of Toronto. Krystal has a range of experience that she brings to teaching, including coaching a national level sports team, instructing recreational programs, directing a camp focused on games and learning, working on literacy programs, and being on various scholarship and evaluation committees. These experiences have shaped her ability to help students in many stages of their growth and learning, and have informed much of her research — some of which she has presented at a conference recently! Though Krystal loves literature in general, the history side of her likes digging into the past and also appreciates classics such as Shakespeare.

ABIGAIL F.

Abigail is a graduate of Queen’s University’s Concurrent Education BAH/B.Ed program with qualifications in Geography and Biology and a specialization in School and Classroom Leadership. She has experience with the International Baccalaureate program and students with exceptionalities.

Abigail’s teaching philosophy revolves encouraging students to rethink their perception of a subject area through engaging inquiry based activities. She prioritizes real life connections to spark interest and provide the ‘why’ behind the content.

Abigail was born in Halifax, NS and moved to BC in 2022. She is passionate about sustainability and bee conservation, and loves to try out new recipes, ski, and read in her free time.

YVONNE S.

Yvonne received her Bachelor of Education from the University of Calgary, specializing in Elementary Mathematics. She has been a classroom teacher for almost a decade, working in both public and private schools. Yvonne has taught all core subjects in elementary and middle school grades. Her personal interests include art and cooking.

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!

HEATHER M.

Heather has a Master’s of Teaching degree and is qualified to teach in Alberta and Ontario. She has over ten years of experience developing and educating youth through academics and play. She is patient, efficient, and always works to ensure students are understanding the material. She believes that it is important to foster a love of learning and looks forward to helping students grow as learners.

ALICE D.

Alice is a teacher candidate in her final year at the University of Toronto. She will be a high school science teacher specializing in biology and general science, and will also be teaching social sciences. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree specializing in Biology at the University of Ottawa but had a wide range of interests and took a variety of courses including math, physics, chemistry, psychology, anthropology and history. In addition to academics, she is an RCM certified piano instructor and has worked as a certified ski instructor. Alice believes that learning is most successful when a teacher explores and draws upon the students’ interest. She believes that it is also essential to make learning fun and to tie the content to everyday life making it meaningful and applicable for the student. In addition to teaching and learning, she enjoys, reading, waterpolo, crocheting and music.

JACKSON F.

Jackson is an Ontario Certified Teacher who currently teaches within the TDSB. Jackson recently obtained his Master of Teaching Degree from OISE, University of Toronto, with Straight A’s! Before this, he obtained a combined honors Bachelor’s Degree from Dalhousie University in Theatre (Acting) & Environment, Sustainability & Society, with a minor in Chinese Studies. Why Chinese? Because he was born and raised until age 15 in Hong Kong, and it’s a beautiful language! Why Nova Scotia for undergrad? Because he attended High School in his family’s native Newfoundland, it was the perfect distance away, and it had this cool brand-new Sustainability Program. Why choose him as your tutor? Because he is very personable, fun, and loves to help you learn, grow, and find new ways to achieve success. You can learn more about his professional, outdoor and theatrical pursuits here: www.jacksonfowlow.com.

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.