The Tungsten Difference
Tungsten Prep is a woman-owned local business dedicated to helping students succeed and find joy in learning.
We believe students thrive when they find that just-right tutor who understands their learning style, inspires them to work harder. And hopefully makes them laugh.
Our team is the key to that mission. We are diverse in every sense of that word – from our backgrounds to our expertise to our teaching style. And we are proud to offer role models whose own life experiences and professional accomplishments encourage students to rethink their preconceived limits and dream big.
But more than that, Tungsten Prep is motivated by Edison’s conviction that success is the product of grit, self-belief, and a willingness to fail. These are the values we strive to instill in our students.
MEET THE FOUNDER
Hello! I’m Sarah Gonzales, founder of Tungsten Prep.
I started my first tutoring “company” at 16, darting around my hometown of Rye, New York to help my classmates with their homework. As an undergraduate at Harvard, I taught English to new immigrants, and I later taught SAT classes at Kaplan to support a writing habit, which included co-authoring the first-ever backpacker’s guide to southern Africa.
My nomadic spirit and love of country led me to a career in the Foreign Service. Over 14 years, I served on four continents. I helped Liberia resolve a crushing debt load brought on by two decades of civil war, established scholarship programs that allowed Afghan girls to attend school, and served on the board of Israel’s Fulbright program. I met heads of state and warlords, oligarchs and philanthropists. But the people who inspired me most were the teachers and students.
Today, I share these lessons with my students. It’s been my honor to be a humble witness to history, and I love to make those events come alive for my students.
When I am not tutoring, I am at home in Washington with my patient husband and our Belgium-raised babies, who insist that chocolate is an essential food group.
MEET THE TEAM
Stanley Maxson
AP U.S. History | AP World History | AP Government | English and Writing
Meet Stanley
Stanley Maxson
AP U.S. History | AP World History | AP Government | English and Writing
Meet Stanley
Stanley Maxson
AP U.S. History | AP World History | AP Government | English and Writing
Meet Stanley
“We were so pleased with Bushra’s excellent math knowledge, patience, flexibility with scheduling and positive attitude. Our daughter’s teacher was not terribly enthusiastic or available, and our daughter started out the year with D’s. But thanks to Bushra, she ended up with a strong B and a pass advanced score [Virginia’s highest score on standardized tests]! Bushra was a pleasure to work with.”
— Laura, mother of George C. Marshall High School sophmore