ABOUT US

Carol Kong

Carol is the go-to tutor for juniors and seniors with that terrifying mountain of AP STEM classes. With humor and patience, she loves helping students connect the classroom and their daily lives. As an undergraduate at SUNY Plattsburgh, she ran the school’s busy Math tutoring center, where she coached hundreds of students through the perils of Calculus and Statistics, and she taught introductory chemistry labs for non-science majors while a grad student at American University. She currently works at the National Institute of Health, where she supports research on diabetes and other chronic health conditions. Carol is the right tutor for any student who needs a confidence boost and wants their AP classes delivered with a side of unflappable calm and a huge smile.

Charlezetta Stokes

Charley makes Physics a lot less scary. And maybe even a little fun. A veteran of Detroit’s most prestigious STEM high school, Charley can empathize with her students’ journey through the sometimes-terrifying realm of AP Physics and Calculus, and her passion for science helps them come out the other side with a newfound sense of wonder for the natural world. Ask her how she came to love vectors.

Charley is completing her PhD in Physics at Howard, where her research focuses on nanomaterials. From the Ford Motor Company’s Scientific Research Laboratories, to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, to NIST’s Center for Neutron Center, Charley’s work has taken her to the intersection between Physics and daily life. Her unmatched passion helps her students recognize that science is a part of life, and when we put our fears aside, there is nothing we cannot master.

Erin Conn

Erin’s passion for science has led her to become a dedicated advocate for equity in STEM and higher education. After some timely tweets on women in science went viral, she was able to raise funds to establish the first graduate student group in STEM focused on equity and inclusion at Georgetown, where she earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry. She now works at the Association for the Advancement of Science’s SEA Change Initiative, dedicated to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

Erin’s love of teaching is driven by the extraordinary mentors she herself has enjoyed, and she hopes to pay that forward by inspiring scientific curiosity and confidence in her students. As a college athlete, she also loves helping students develop a healthy balance that enables them to achieve both academic and extracurricular goals.

Joan Reger

We defy you to find a subject Joan can’t teach. Joan is pursuing a PhD in Biology at Georgetown. But she first fell in love with the sciences as a high school student, when great teachers helped her discover the excitement of researching our biological world. She loves tutoring because it helps her pay that forward, and she mentors students with great patience and warmth, gently encouraging them to find their own full potential. A true humanist, Joan is as much at home in the realm of writing and literature as she is in the sciences, and she logged hundreds of hours tutoring high school students in both STEM subjects and English while attending Emory University. She is the ideal tutor for students who want a versatile and confidence-boosting guide and welcome support in multiple subjects.

Kristen Mastropole

From the Arctic to the Galapagos, Kristen has crossed the oceans as a climate scientist with a passion for biodiversity. She has more than a decade of experience as a tutor, most recently as the director of STEM education at a tutoring center in Hong Kong. Kristen’s breadth of experience with high school students benefits all our students, and she helps design curricula for both standardized tests and general study skills.

And while her research vessels may have taken her to the far corners of the Earth, Kristen always returns to her native DMV, and her students find relevance in her own hometown experiences as a graduate of Georgetown and the Holton-Arms School.

Oliver Broadrick

Oliver loves bringing his infectious energy and love of learning to students. As a Division 1 rower, he juggles a demanding academic and extracurricular schedule and loves to help students tackle lofty challenges and meet their own goals. Oliver studies Computer Science and Mathematics at GW while working on research in post-election risk-limiting audits. Oliver uses his experience in math and software to show students the exciting real-world pay off of excelling in STEM subjects. This GW student is an outdoors enthusiast who grew up on a Maine farm and believes in finding balance through nature. He is the right tutor for students who need help in multiple STEM subjects or want a high-energy cheerleader in their corner.

Preston Griffin

Preston loves to find that unique way to inspire each student and give them the confidence and skills to manage a heavy STEM course load. He has been a middle school basketball coach and a college chemistry instructor – a variety of experiences that help him motivate students with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds. Preston is a chemistry PhD candidate at GW University, and loves to recharge with reading, hiking and video games. A lifelong learner, Preston loves to swap book recommendations and share his own slow but steady efforts to learn Portuguese in his spare time!

Ralph Liu

Ralph is a teaching assistant for Georgetown’s introductory Computer Science course and recently contributed to a rapid prototype analytic for COVID-19. He is passionate about the intersection between technology and public service, and loves to share that grit and enthusiasm with his students. In particular, he is motivated to support those who find STEM classes intimidating and need a guide to charting their own success story. A nomadic childhood moving between Seoul, Toronto, Boston, Beijing and Washington, DC gave him an appreciation for cultural diversity and taught him a cheerful adaptability that helps him connect with a wide range of students. In his spare time, Ralph loves skateboarding, working out and playing his electric guitar.

Ramsin Yadgar

Ramsin’s lifelong passion for the sciences led him to an early career as an engineer, but his interest in helping people brought him to medicine. He draws on his varied experiences – from a Fortune 500 company to Silicon Valley start-ups to clinical work with patients – to empower his students to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit, be resilient in the face of obstacles, and approach teamwork with compassion and humility. As a current medical student at The George Washington University School of Medicine, he channels his passion for academia by tutoring students in both the sciences and humanities.

Ramsin began his tutoring career in high school and through college, and he hasn’t stopped since. A proud Californian, he believes the diversity of his home state and his experience working with a wide range of students enables him to adjust his instructional style to suit the unique needs of each learner. Ramsin is the right tutor for students who need support across a wide range of subject, for those tackling multiple AP classes, and for students who need a motivating role model to help them improve their organizational skills and spark their interest in school.

Carol Kong

Carol is the go-to tutor for juniors and seniors with that terrifying mountain of AP STEM classes. With humor and patience, she loves helping students connect the classroom and their daily lives. As an undergraduate at SUNY Plattsburgh, she ran the school’s busy Math tutoring center, where she coached hundreds of students through the perils of Calculus and Statistics, and she taught introductory chemistry labs for non-science majors while a grad student at American University. She currently works at the National Institute of Health, where she supports research on diabetes and other chronic health conditions. Carol is the right tutor for any student who needs a confidence boost and wants their AP classes delivered with a side of unflappable calm and a huge smile.

Charlezetta Stokes

Charley makes Physics a lot less scary. And maybe even a little fun. A veteran of Detroit’s most prestigious STEM high school, Charley can empathize with her students’ journey through the sometimes-terrifying realm of AP Physics and Calculus, and her passion for science helps them come out the other side with a newfound sense of wonder for the natural world. Ask her how she came to love vectors.

Charley is completing her PhD in Physics at Howard, where her research focuses on nanomaterials. From the Ford Motor Company’s Scientific Research Laboratories, to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, to NIST’s Center for Neutron Center, Charley’s work has taken her to the intersection between Physics and daily life. Her unmatched passion helps her students recognize that science is a part of life, and when we put our fears aside, there is nothing we cannot master.

Erin Conn

Erin’s passion for science has led her to become a dedicated advocate for equity in STEM and higher education. After some timely tweets on women in science went viral, she was able to raise funds to establish the first graduate student group in STEM focused on equity and inclusion at Georgetown, where she earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry. She now works at the Association for the Advancement of Science’s SEA Change Initiative, dedicated to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

Erin’s love of teaching is driven by the extraordinary mentors she herself has enjoyed, and she hopes to pay that forward by inspiring scientific curiosity and confidence in her students. As a college athlete, she also loves helping students develop a healthy balance that enables them to achieve both academic and extracurricular goals.

Greta Batista

From a middle schooler who “hated” math to president of the George Washington University Association of Women in Math, Greta recognizes that a confidence boost and good study habits can help any student find their inner math enthusiast. This Northern Virginia native has been tutoring students in math, English and Spanish since high school and understands the unique pressures that local students face. A born extrovert, Greta enjoys learning about her students’ interests to motivate them. She is a native Spanish speaker and has degrees in both math and political science from GWU. She enjoys working with students who want help in a broad range of subjects.

Joan Reger

We defy you to find a subject Joan can’t teach. Joan is pursuing a PhD in Biology at Georgetown. But she first fell in love with the sciences as a high school student, when great teachers helped her discover the excitement of researching our biological world. She loves tutoring because it helps her pay that forward, and she mentors students with great patience and warmth, gently encouraging them to find their own full potential. A true humanist, Joan is as much at home in the realm of writing and literature as she is in the sciences, and she logged hundreds of hours tutoring high school students in both STEM subjects and English while attending Emory University. She is the ideal tutor for students who want a versatile and confidence-boosting guide and welcome support in multiple subjects.

Kaitlin Rogers

Kaitlin loves to help students discover the talents they often can’t fully see. She has designed study skills and college readiness programs for first-generation college students in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, and taught a course at Furman University that helped students with different social identities engage in conversations to develop empathy and dialogue skills. Her experiences led her to Howard University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in History. In her spare time, Kaitlin loves cooking, riding her bike and spending time with her friends and partner.

Kristen Mastropole

From the Arctic to the Galapagos, Kristen has crossed the oceans as a climate scientist with a passion for biodiversity. She has more than a decade of experience as a tutor, most recently as the director of STEM education at a tutoring center in Hong Kong. Kristen’s breadth of experience with high school students benefits all our students, and she helps design curricula for both standardized tests and general study skills.

And while her research vessels may have taken her to the far corners of the Earth, Kristen always returns to her native DMV, and her students find relevance in her own hometown experiences as a graduate of Georgetown and the Holton-Arms School.

Matthew Fredericks

Matthew never achieved his childhood dream of becoming the next Michael Jordan, but he has bicycled across the United States, runs marathons and loves to share his wide-ranging book tastes with his students. An area native, he returned to Washington, DC after recovering from a travel bug that took him to 59 countries. He has taught Math and History for Teach for America in Brooklyn and currently teaches Latin at Bishop McNamara High School in Maryland. Never one to sit still, he is also pursuing graduate studies in Classics at Georgetown University. His motivation to push his body and mind is mirrored in his knack for pushing students to reach outside their comfort zone while ensuring that they come away with greater confidence and an improved understanding of the subject at hand.

Neeraj Tatikola

Neeraj’s love of teaching goes back to middle school when a teacher started a summer book club. The experience of having his instructor push him to question his preconceived limits exposed him to the life-changing superpowers of a great teacher. Neeraj taught math, statistics, and physics at Penn State, while serving as a tutor to Division I athletes, where he learned to motivate busy students and help them juggle competing priorities. By day, he is a financial consultant. He is also an active student of yoga and meditation and has formal training in mindfulness-based stress reduction, which he loves to share with his students.

Oliver Broadrick

Oliver loves bringing his infectious energy and love of learning to students. As a Division 1 rower, he juggles a demanding academic and extracurricular schedule and loves to help students tackle lofty challenges and meet their own goals. Oliver studies Computer Science and Mathematics at GW while working on research in post-election risk-limiting audits. Oliver uses his experience in math and software to show students the exciting real-world pay off of excelling in STEM subjects. This GW student is an outdoors enthusiast who grew up on a Maine farm and believes in finding balance through nature. He is the right tutor for students who need help in multiple STEM subjects or want a high-energy cheerleader in their corner.

Preston Griffin

Preston loves to find that unique way to inspire each student and give them the confidence and skills to manage a heavy STEM course load. He has been a middle school basketball coach and a college chemistry instructor – a variety of experiences that help him motivate students with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds. Preston is a chemistry PhD candidate at GW University, and loves to recharge with reading, hiking and video games. A lifelong learner, Preston loves to swap book recommendations and share his own slow but steady efforts to learn Portuguese in his spare time!

Ralph Liu

Ralph is a teaching assistant for Georgetown’s introductory Computer Science course and recently contributed to a rapid prototype analytic for COVID-19. He is passionate about the intersection between technology and public service, and loves to share that grit and enthusiasm with his students. In particular, he is motivated to support those who find STEM classes intimidating and need a guide to charting their own success story. A nomadic childhood moving between Seoul, Toronto, Boston, Beijing and Washington, DC gave him an appreciation for cultural diversity and taught him a cheerful adaptability that helps him connect with a wide range of students. In his spare time, Ralph loves skateboarding, working out and playing his electric guitar.

Ramsin Yadgar

Ramsin’s lifelong passion for the sciences led him to an early career as an engineer, but his interest in helping people brought him to medicine. He draws on his varied experiences – from a Fortune 500 company to Silicon Valley start-ups to clinical work with patients – to empower his students to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit, be resilient in the face of obstacles, and approach teamwork with compassion and humility. As a current medical student at The George Washington University School of Medicine, he channels his passion for academia by tutoring students in both the sciences and humanities.

Ramsin began his tutoring career in high school and through college, and he hasn’t stopped since. A proud Californian, he believes the diversity of his home state and his experience working with a wide range of students enables him to adjust his instructional style to suit the unique needs of each learner. Ramsin is the right tutor for students who need support across a wide range of subject, for those tackling multiple AP classes, and for students who need a motivating role model to help them improve their organizational skills and spark their interest in school.

Tahseen Rabbani

When it comes to math tutoring, Tahseen has taught it all. From pre-algebra to advanced calculus, he inspires numbers enthusiasts and novices to find confidence in those Xs and Ys. Tahseen has designed a math curriculum for a Duke summer program for gifted students and hosted math festivals for students traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. He is currently working towards his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Maryland and serves as a lecturer in Calculus at Georgetown University. He didn’t love math until his senior year of high school, when an amazing calculus teacher inspired him. His patient and gregarious style helps students shore up weaknesses in math and gives them the confidence to tackle the most challenging content.

Emily Somberg

Emily was raised halfway between Washington and Paris and serves as linguistic and cultural interpreter for her students. She helps students get to the bottom of French grammar, encouraging them to understand and not merely memorize. She has a particular knack with students who need help improving their study habits, and her patient and systematic approach helps refine her students’ test taking, writing and time management skills . Emily has a master’s degree in anthropology from George Washington University. She currently works in law and loves to hike and cook when she’s not tutoring.

Kaitlin Rogers

Kaitlin loves to help students discover the talents they often can’t fully see. She has designed study skills and college readiness programs for first-generation college students in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, and taught a course at Furman University that helped students with different social identities engage in conversations to develop empathy and dialogue skills. Her experiences led her to Howard University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in History. In her spare time, Kaitlin loves cooking, riding her bike and spending time with her friends and partner.

Matthew Fredericks

Matthew never achieved his childhood dream of becoming the next Michael Jordan, but he has bicycled across the United States, runs marathons and loves to share his wide-ranging book tastes with his students. An area native, he returned to Washington, DC after recovering from a travel bug that took him to 59 countries. He has taught Math and History for Teach for America in Brooklyn and currently teaches Latin at Bishop McNamara High School in Maryland. Never one to sit still, he is also pursuing graduate studies in Classics at Georgetown University. His motivation to push his body and mind is mirrored in his knack for pushing students to reach outside their comfort zone while ensuring that they come away with greater confidence and an improved understanding of the subject at hand.

Rae Grabowski

Rae discovered her life path at age five when she fell in love with The Hobbit and vowed to follow Tolkien in getting a Ph.D. in medieval literature. Two decades later, she completed a PhD at Cornell, where she has taught history, writing, Latin and English literature and composition. She is currently teaching AP U.S. History and AP World History at a high school in Northern Virginia. Rae’s calm and patient approach draws students out, and her interdisciplinary background inspires pupils to see the sweeping trends in history, literature, and government. She relates well to students who feel frustrated and loves to share hacks to help them unlock their inner organizer.

Caitlin Jordan

Caitlin is a lover of all things literary. Caitlin has taught Middle School and High School English in Florida and Idaho, where she served as a full-time residential advisor and summer camp counselor, and currently works as a reading teacher for elementary students in Northern Virginia. Her experience both living and working with adolescents gives her an empathy for her students’ goals and interests, and makes sure she keeps them laughing. From the passionate reader to the reluctant writer, Caitlin loves meeting her students where they are and helping them find their inner bookworm. Whether they are vexed by grammar or bored by literature, Caitlin loves building her students’ understanding of the English language from the ground up. Watch out: they may even learn to love Hawthorne and Dickens!

Dawn Henderson

Dawn loves to help students discover the magic in books. From the mechanics of grammar to the weightiest literature topics, this seasoned teacher leads students through all the stages of competent and confident writing. Dawn is completing her PhD in African-American Literature at Howard University, but it was overcoming childhood struggles with reading that set her on a lifelong mission to help others experience that moment of understanding, clarity, and intrigue that comes from learning something new. Dawn’s own interests are wide-ranging, from a passion for travel to a love of gardening, cooking, and writing poetry and she brings her curiosity and positivity to each of her students.

Erin Conn

Erin’s passion for science has led her to become a dedicated advocate for equity in STEM and higher education. After some timely tweets on women in science went viral, she was able to raise funds to establish the first graduate student group in STEM focused on equity and inclusion at Georgetown, where she earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry. She now works at the Association for the Advancement of Science’s SEA Change Initiative, dedicated to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

Erin’s love of teaching is driven by the extraordinary mentors she herself has enjoyed, and she hopes to pay that forward by inspiring scientific curiosity and confidence in her students. As a college athlete, she also loves helping students develop a healthy balance that enables them to achieve both academic and extracurricular goals.

Kaitlin Rogers

Kaitlin loves to help students discover the talents they often can’t fully see. She has designed study skills and college readiness programs for first-generation college students in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, and taught a course at Furman University that helped students with different social identities engage in conversations to develop empathy and dialogue skills. Her experiences led her to Howard University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in History. In her spare time, Kaitlin loves cooking, riding her bike and spending time with her friends and partner.

Matthew Fredericks

Matthew never achieved his childhood dream of becoming the next Michael Jordan, but he has bicycled across the United States, runs marathons and loves to share his wide-ranging book tastes with his students. An area native, he returned to Washington, DC after recovering from a travel bug that took him to 59 countries. He has taught Math and History for Teach for America in Brooklyn and currently teaches Latin at Bishop McNamara High School in Maryland. Never one to sit still, he is also pursuing graduate studies in Classics at Georgetown University. His motivation to push his body and mind is mirrored in his knack for pushing students to reach outside their comfort zone while ensuring that they come away with greater confidence and an improved understanding of the subject at hand.

Rae Grabowski

Rae discovered her life path at age five when she fell in love with The Hobbit and vowed to follow Tolkien in getting a Ph.D. in medieval literature. Two decades later, she completed a PhD at Cornell, where she has taught history, writing, Latin and English literature and composition. She is currently teaching AP U.S. History and AP World History at a high school in Northern Virginia. Rae’s calm and patient approach draws students out, and her interdisciplinary background inspires pupils to see the sweeping trends in history, literature, and government. She relates well to students who feel frustrated and loves to share hacks to help them unlock their inner organizer.

Charlezetta Stokes

Charley makes Physics a lot less scary. And maybe even a little fun. A veteran of Detroit’s most prestigious STEM high school, Charley can empathize with her students’ journey through the sometimes-terrifying realm of AP Physics and Calculus, and her passion for science helps them come out the other side with a newfound sense of wonder for the natural world. Ask her how she came to love vectors.

Charley is completing her PhD in Physics at Howard, where her research focuses on nanomaterials. From the Ford Motor Company’s Scientific Research Laboratories, to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, to NIST’s Center for Neutron Center, Charley’s work has taken her to the intersection between Physics and daily life. Her unmatched passion helps her students recognize that science is a part of life, and when we put our fears aside, there is nothing we cannot master.

Joan Reger

We defy you to find a subject Joan can’t teach. Joan is pursuing a PhD in Biology at Georgetown. But she first fell in love with the sciences as a high school student, when great teachers helped her discover the excitement of researching our biological world. She loves tutoring because it helps her pay that forward, and she mentors students with great patience and warmth, gently encouraging them to find their own full potential. A true humanist, Joan is as much at home in the realm of writing and literature as she is in the sciences, and she logged hundreds of hours tutoring high school students in both STEM subjects and English while attending Emory University. She is the ideal tutor for students who want a versatile and confidence-boosting guide and welcome support in multiple subjects.

Kristen Mastropole

From the Arctic to the Galapagos, Kristen has crossed the oceans as a climate scientist with a passion for biodiversity. She has more than a decade of experience as a tutor, most recently as the director of STEM education at a tutoring center in Hong Kong. Kristen’s breadth of experience with high school students benefits all our students, and she helps design curricula for both standardized tests and general study skills.

And while her research vessels may have taken her to the far corners of the Earth, Kristen always returns to her native DMV, and her students find relevance in her own hometown experiences as a graduate of Georgetown and the Holton-Arms School.

Mae Butler

A self-described “ambivert,” Mae shifts comfortably between high-energy social interactions and quiet time spent gardening, cooking and embroidering. She brings that same approach to her students and excels at connecting with a wide range of students, from introverts to extroverts and confident test-takers to nervous first-timers. Mae began her test prep career in at NY-based NGO that helps local students prepare for the SAT and ACT. Her students can expect patient and supportive instruction that integrates mentorship and rigorous study. Her goal is for all her students to apply the skills they develop together in future coursework and to have fun while studying!

Greta Batista

From a middle schooler who “hated” math to president of the George Washington University Association of Women in Math, Greta recognizes that a confidence boost and good study habits can help any student find their inner math enthusiast. This Northern Virginia native has been tutoring students in math, English and Spanish since high school and understands the unique pressures that local students face. A born extrovert, Greta enjoys learning about her students’ interests to motivate them. She is a native Spanish speaker and has degrees in both math and political science from GWU. She enjoys working with students who want help in a broad range of subjects.

Matthew Fredericks

Matthew never achieved his childhood dream of becoming the next Michael Jordan, but he has bicycled across the United States, runs marathons and loves to share his wide-ranging book tastes with his students. An area native, he returned to Washington, DC after recovering from a travel bug that took him to 59 countries. He has taught Math and History for Teach for America in Brooklyn and currently teaches Latin at Bishop McNamara High School in Maryland. Never one to sit still, he is also pursuing graduate studies in Classics at Georgetown University. His motivation to push his body and mind is mirrored in his knack for pushing students to reach outside their comfort zone while ensuring that they come away with greater confidence and an improved understanding of the subject at hand.

Caitlin Jordan

Caitlin is a lover of all things literary. Caitlin has taught Middle School and High School English in Florida and Idaho, where she served as a full-time residential advisor and summer camp counselor, and currently works as a reading teacher for elementary students in Northern Virginia. Her experience both living and working with adolescents gives her an empathy for her students’ goals and interests, and makes sure she keeps them laughing. From the passionate reader to the reluctant writer, Caitlin loves meeting her students where they are and helping them find their inner bookworm. Whether they are vexed by grammar or bored by literature, Caitlin loves building her students’ understanding of the English language from the ground up. Watch out: they may even learn to love Hawthorne and Dickens!

Emily Somberg

Emily was raised halfway between Washington and Paris and serves as linguistic and cultural interpreter for her students. She helps students get to the bottom of French grammar, encouraging them to understand and not merely memorize. She has a particular knack with students who need help improving their study habits, and her patient and systematic approach helps refine her students’ test taking, writing and time management skills . Emily has a master’s degree in anthropology from George Washington University. She currently works in law and loves to hike and cook when she’s not tutoring.

Greta Batista

From a middle schooler who “hated” math to president of the George Washington University Association of Women in Math, Greta recognizes that a confidence boost and good study habits can help any student find their inner math enthusiast. This Northern Virginia native has been tutoring students in math, English and Spanish since high school and understands the unique pressures that local students face. A born extrovert, Greta enjoys learning about her students’ interests to motivate them. She is a native Spanish speaker and has degrees in both math and political science from GWU. She enjoys working with students who want help in a broad range of subjects.

Kaitlin Rogers

Kaitlin loves to help students discover the talents they often can’t fully see. She has designed study skills and college readiness programs for first-generation college students in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, and taught a course at Furman University that helped students with different social identities engage in conversations to develop empathy and dialogue skills. Her experiences led her to Howard University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in History. In her spare time, Kaitlin loves cooking, riding her bike and spending time with her friends and partner.

Matthew Fredericks

Matthew never achieved his childhood dream of becoming the next Michael Jordan, but he has bicycled across the United States, runs marathons and loves to share his wide-ranging book tastes with his students. An area native, he returned to Washington, DC after recovering from a travel bug that took him to 59 countries. He has taught Math and History for Teach for America in Brooklyn and currently teaches Latin at Bishop McNamara High School in Maryland. Never one to sit still, he is also pursuing graduate studies in Classics at Georgetown University. His motivation to push his body and mind is mirrored in his knack for pushing students to reach outside their comfort zone while ensuring that they come away with greater confidence and an improved understanding of the subject at hand.

Ralph Liu

Ralph is a teaching assistant for Georgetown’s introductory Computer Science course and recently contributed to a rapid prototype analytic for COVID-19. He is passionate about the intersection between technology and public service, and loves to share that grit and enthusiasm with his students. In particular, he is motivated to support those who find STEM classes intimidating and need a guide to charting their own success story. A nomadic childhood moving between Seoul, Toronto, Boston, Beijing and Washington, DC gave him an appreciation for cultural diversity and taught him a cheerful adaptability that helps him connect with a wide range of students. In his spare time, Ralph loves skateboarding, working out and playing his electric guitar.

Rae Grabowski

Rae discovered her life path at age five when she fell in love with The Hobbit and vowed to follow Tolkien in getting a Ph.D. in medieval literature. Two decades later, she completed a PhD at Cornell, where she has taught history, writing, Latin and English literature and composition. She is currently teaching AP U.S. History and AP World History at a high school in Northern Virginia. Rae’s calm and patient approach draws students out, and her interdisciplinary background inspires pupils to see the sweeping trends in history, literature, and government. She relates well to students who feel frustrated and loves to share hacks to help them unlock their inner organizer.

Zahraa Alnajaar

Zahraa makes learning Arabic a cultural adventure. She believes students learn best when they understand not just the subjects and verbs, but the art, music, geography and history that enriches and informs the language. A veteran teacher with 16 years’ experience, Zahraa is on the cutting edge of using technology and online learning resources to enhance her students’ understanding and enthusiasm for Arabic.

Zahraa is a lecturer in Arabic at American University and teaches classes at both the Middle East Institute and Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies. She has a PhD in literature from Aleppo University.