I graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a Bachelor's in Japanese and also received an Associate's of Arts in English from Crafton Hills College.
I volunteer at my local Japanese Language School to help with teaching students of all ages in Japanese.
In addition, I have earned a teaching certificate (TEFL). This was a 120-hour course which included a course on teaching English as a foreign language and it's structure; while it was specifically for teaching ESL, the bulk of the course focused on the methodology I would need to work as a teacher. I did this so that I can better teach Native Japanese students English, and though I love to teach Japanese the most, I felt that earning a teaching certificate was the best way to learn methods about teaching a language and helping my students as their tutor! Along the way, I learned a lot about teaching, its methods, lesson planning, and how to teach language in general.

While I was in college, I decided to take Japanese because truthfully, I was curious. I'd changed my major recently and wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I ended up loving Japanese within two weeks and it became my most passionate subject.

I formed the Japanese club at Crafton Hills College while I was attending. Students in varying levels of Japanese came together to have extra study time with the textbook and played practice games as well. The club was supervised by a faculty advisor, our own professor.

When I transferred to UC Riverside, I'd joined an already-created Japanese club (called Sakura-Bu) where Americans and Japanese transfer students came together and practiced each other's languages together.

The two clubs along with my other academic experiences allowed me to learn more about Japanese and collaborating with others to better understand the language and help each other. Networking happened naturally and making connections with others that learned Japanese gave both myself and others the opportunity to practice and learn new things.

I've studied Japanese for 6 years and knowing how long the process is, I've learned to also be a patient and kind tutor towards my students, and I love to make it fun to learn for kids, teens, and adults alike!
I love teaching it to others, being engaging as much as possible, and I enjoy working with people of all ages that are curious like me, and just as willing to learn!