Amy

Certified Tutor

Hello future students!
You’re probably curious about whether we would work well together and whether I know my stuff. I hold a BA in Letters from the University of Oklahoma, which includes English, Classical languages, History, and Philosophy. I’m a certified English teacher, an Oklahoma Writing Project teacher-consultant, and a National Writing Project Fellow, and I have taught writing workshops for teachers and students across the state.

My favorite thing to teach is creative writing. I am an award-winning writer with 14 professionally-published stories, and I’m currently working on my third novel. I love to read epic fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings, but I also love any writing that’s well-crafted or makes you think, like Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 or Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

I teach because I fell in love with that “aha” moment when a concept clicks and you can see on someone’s face that they “get it.” I was raised by teachers, and I’ve always believed that anyone can succeed academically, no matter what their challenges, if they have the motivation to keep working and a skilled mentor who believes in their potential. My students are not just successful; they exceed their expectations because I help them see and build on their strengths.

One of my favorite teaching stories is about a young man who “hated” poetry. About a week after I read one of his poems in class and talked about all the things he was doing right, he brought me a notebook with poems he had written on his own; he had become a poet.

I’ve been teaching for 16 years. I started out working as a tutor in the college writing center at the University of Oklahoma for 4 years, helping students understand assignments, revise essays, write resumes, and perfect research papers. During and after college, I volunteered teaching English as a Second Language to international students at OSU, OU, and Fairmont State University, and I also taught English overseas in Riga, Latvia and Buenos Aires, Argentina for two summers. I’ve taught Pre-AP and on-level World Literature for 6 years at Moore High School, where I helped students with grammar, literary analysis, creative writing, and reading comprehension. I taught an intersession literary analysis class for the University of Oklahoma for three semesters. Most recently, I’ve tutored individual high school, middle school, and elementary students who needed extra support in reading, writing essays, or coaching to pass a big exam.

In my spare time, I like to try new things, like kayaking, learning tai chi, listening to indie bands, wandering through art galleries, or making food from other countries.

I look forward to meeting you!