PrepNow Tutor - Tara L.
Having mastered many intimidating tests, Tara is adept at demystifying topics in STEM, particularly regarding the SAT and MCAT. She focuses on fostering strong foundational and study skills, confidence, and the drive to push through challenges. She has taught students at the middle school, high school, and college levels.
Tara holds a BS in biology from Emory University and a doctorate in pharmacy from South University; she also completed two years of medical school at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Her experiences in the helping professions have deepened her active listening and communication skills, making her an excellent fit for students who thrive with tailored support. In addition to tutoring, she is currently a seasonal immunizing pharmacist and teaches pharmacy students at Northeastern University’s Bouve College of Health Sciences, where she helps prepare them for exams and models how to approach the work with compassion and expertise.
Her teaching journey began during medical school, when she tutored 7th graders in science and math twice a week. She also worked with peers, leading study groups to address tricky concepts and help prepare for intimidating tests. After a prolonged illness caused her to pivot from the medical field, she focused on raising her family and attending pharmacy school. She is proud of having served on the front lines during the COVID pandemic, immunizing staff, patients, and vulnerable populations at hospitals, nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and government-funded housing.
Tara’s engaging, supportive approach is geared toward making each session rewarding and challenging enough to spur growth. She has a keen eye for assessing each student’s approach and any gaps. “I prefer to watch a student work on a problem and tell me what they are doing,” she explains. This way, she gets a better picture of the student’s abilities and methods and can step in to fill gaps or redirect. “With math problems especially, I want to emphasize to students how breaking down equations into smaller equations can make things so much easier to digest,” she adds. She also encourages students to use other modalities—like drawings to represent variables—to approach problems in ways that make sense to them.
Additionally, she opts for a “75/25” balance for each session, meaning the majority of the session is geared toward implementing new, more challenging material. “We end on a lighter note because this is the material that the student is more proficient in, and it improves their mood after working really hard during the challenging first three quarters,” she adds. Ultimately, she wants her students to develop an enthusiastic, personalized relationship with the learning process and to become more successful learners.
She’s proud of having won the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists’ Clinical Skills competition and the American Pharmacists Association’s Patient Counseling competition in 2008. She also received the CVS Scholarship in 2008 for graduating from pharmacy school with the highest GPA in her class.
Outside the classroom and pharmacy, she loves reading mystery novels, watching crime series, and playing original card games like Bridge and Spades with her family. Fun fact: She won a $500 bowling scholarship in 3rd grade that she received upon starting college. “It paid for one semester of phone calls to my family.”
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