Rhea completed her Bachelor of Science in Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics with honors at UC Santa Cruz and is currently completing her Master of Business and Science in Drug Discovery and Development at Rutgers University. In college, she won both the Dean's and Chancellor's Awards for her senior thesis, adding to her rich research profile. She also has six years of tutoring experience, including being a STEM tutor at the high school and college level and being an academic coach for various math and science courses. Rhea has helped students get into several prestigious schools, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Cornell, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Rhea deeply values education and understands its profound impact on shaping future success. She is dedicated to empowering all students to reach their full potential, whether it's mastering subjects or achieving top scores on the SAT for college admission. She specializes in ACT and SAT tutoring as well as math, biology, chemistry, and English at any level, including AP.
Rhea’s tutoring style is fun but focused. She avoids long lectures and creates an interactive, judgment-free learning environment where positive reinforcement and encouraging words are used to motivate students. She kicks off sessions with a thorough content overview, providing examples and walking students through problem-solving techniques, with a particular focus on efficiency. After presenting the material, she encourages students to recap what they've learned and ask questions. Practice problems follow, but Rhea ensures students prioritize understanding the problem-solving strategies rather than simply arriving at the correct answer. Once students have a solid grasp of the strategies, she shifts her focus to accuracy and timing, ensuring they're fully equipped to tackle any challenge that comes their way.
Rhea is adept at helping students tackle learning obstacles head-on. When faced with challenging material, she understands the importance of shifting perspectives or simply taking a break to reset. Rhea often asks students about their interests or weekend plans, allowing them to take a breather and return to the material with a renewed sense of focus and motivation. Rather than overwhelming students with continuous content or labeling concepts as "easy" or "hard," Rhea focuses on simplifying the material and providing relatable examples or analogies. By doing so, students can approach the content with a refreshed mindset and greater openness. Moreover, Rhea emphasizes the significance of embracing mistakes as part of the learning process. She reassures students that it's perfectly normal not to grasp concepts immediately and encourages them to view errors as opportunities for growth.
In her free time, Rhea likes to dance, take pictures, go boxing, find new hiking spots, and travel. She has been to over 15 countries!
Pamela has earned a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a PhD from Stanford University, where she served in admissions as an Application Reader. In this role, Pamela made admissions decisions and was part of a 40-person committee. This experience gave Pamela a profound understanding of institutional priorities, class balance, and the nuanced factors influencing admission decisions. Professionally, Pamela is an Admissions Interviewer at Stanford University School of Medicine.
As a first-generation international student, Pamela understands the challenges applicants face without access to resources. This personal history fuels her passion for ensuring that aspiring students are well-informed about the expectations of college admissions officers, recognizing the often opaque nature of the process.
With a background deeply rooted in education and academia, Pamela has witnessed the transformative power of learning throughout her professional life. She strategically emphasizes the importance of working hard and smart, instilling a holistic approach to the application process in her students. She navigates the complexities of the admissions process, acknowledging that merit is not the sole determinant.
Pamela's impressive track record speaks volumes, as applicants she has coached have gained admission to prestigious institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, UCLA, Berkeley, Emory, Vanderbilt, and many others.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Pamela leads an active lifestyle immersed in nature, residing in the woods and engaging in hiking, rock climbing, running, and various outdoor pursuits. Complementing her coaching role, she dedicates time to teaching in prisons and volunteering as a Search and Rescue aid.
Robert is a Duke University alumnus with over three years of tutoring experience. His journey into teaching began with a desire to combine his passion for education with his love for mathematics.
Robert specializes in tutoring mathematics and ACT, SAT, and SSAT prep. His passion for tutoring is fueled by student success and progress.
Patience, understanding, and encouragement are the heart of Robert’s tutoring style. He strives to instill confidence in his students by posing the right questions and motivating them until they can independently arrive at solutions. His approach is centered on guiding students to recognize patterns and develop problem-solving skills on their own, a methodology that has transformed failing students into straight-A achievers.
According to Robert, the beauty of math is its logical root. He is skilled at adeptly exploring the subject from various angles until it becomes understandable for each student! His strength lies in breaking down complex topics and tailoring explanations to suit the unique understanding of each student.
Aside from tutoring, Robert enjoys playing the guitar and staying active through weightlifting and Jiu Jitsu. He also played football at Duke!
Foundation Learning's English tutors have extensive experience in teaching or hold a college degree in a related discipline.
Parent involvement and check-ins are always welcome; we never want to leave you in the dark about your child’s progress. We always keep an open line of communication to ensure you can monitor your child’s progress.
Our proprietary matching process ensures students are paired with a tutor we believe meets their needs and preferences best based on the information you provide in the intake form. Our tutoring programs focus first on the areas where your child needs help most, then building on those skills for literary excellence. Tutors are picked based on student/family needs, preferences, and aspirations.
The tutoring plan that would suit your child best depends on the level and how much support they need, the area they need the most help with (such as reading comprehensively, effectively communicating ideas, writing essays, etc.), and their availability. If you’re unsure which plan would work best for your child, set up a call today to chat with us about your options!