PrepNow Tutor - Esther B.
Prospective medical student Esther enjoys learning new skills and expanding her knowledge of science. She is driven, friendly, and responsible. Esther attended Yeshiva University where she earned her bachelor’s in biology. During her undergraduate studies, Esther maintained Dean Scholar status—a merit-based scholarship granting access to honors courses. In her final year, she certified as an EMT. She spent her last semester working in New York as an EMT. She has since transferred her EMT license to Dallas where she plans on matriculating into medical school.
As an undergrad, Esther worked as both a private biology tutor and a peer tutor teaching chemistry for her university. While both subjects came easy to Esther, her most fulfilling work was with a student who needed help with essay writing and business class discussion boards. After establishing herself as a science tutor, a fellow student with cerebral palsy reached out. As Esther explains, “this student presented two challenges: she needed a tutor who was capable of teaching her the material, but also had the patience to understand what she was saying with her speech impediment.” From the experience, she learned that tutors are valuable not only for their knowledge of the subject matter, but also their ability to “listen to students and encourage them to develop their own thought process.”
“My philosophy when it comes to tutoring is ‘see one, do one, teach one,’” Esther says. That is, she teaches the student a concept, the student applies the strategy to a problem, then they re-explain the concept as if they were the teacher. “Students learn best when they are able to apply concepts and then explain them in their own words,” she explains. In her experience, this approach allows students to retain information long-term. Esther also believes that “practice is critical in the learning process.” As such, she encourages practicing new material with multiple problems in order to gain understanding.
While Esther prepares for medical school she is taking a gap year. She began her year backpacking through Thailand and Vietnam for a month. Esther has always enjoyed traveling. In high school, she often visited America’s national parks. She’s been to four continents and over thirty-five states! She likes hiking and other forms of exercise like tennis and swimming. Esther speaks Spanish and was a member of the Latinx club in high school. She is now spending her time working as a tutor and an EMT. She says, “both of these capacities allow me to help others, which is what fills me with a sense of purpose.” Esther is always looking for her next adventure!
|