"Dear Student,

I'm Natasha and I am a first generation college graduate now enrolled in a PhD program. Two years ago, I graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor's of Science in Biomedical Sciences with a minor in Biology and now I am a 3rd year PhD student in Cancer Biology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (GPA = 4.0). For 2 years I tutored college students/peers in Math (Pre-calc and Calc), Biology (General Biology 1&2, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cell Structure and Function), Chemistry (General Chemistry 1&2, Organic Chemistry 1&2, Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry 1&2), Physics (General Physics 1&2) and Spanish. In addition to tutoring those subjects, I was also the teaching assistant (TA) for the Biology lectures. My students have always evaluated me highly, recommended me to their friends who needed similar help, and even asked for me to tutor other classes that were not offered. I was (and still am) able to tutor a wide range of science/pre-medical courses because (1) as an aspiring Physician-Scientist, I am absolutely fascinated with the world of science and medicine, (2) I have taken and aced a wide range of pre-medical classes and (3) have performed rigorous biomedical research at both the undergraduate and graduate levels that have helped me "see it to believe it". In addition to the classes mentioned above, I have also taken many upper level medical courses such as Anatomy & Physiology, Hematology, Immunology and Microbiology, Genetics and Cancer Biology, to name a few. Simply put, my above experiences have made me very well rounded in the core concepts of undergraduate pre-medical sciences.

So, what makes me a good teacher? I highlighted the phrase "first generation" in my introductory sentence because it truly defines the type of learner I am today- independent. On a more personal note, growing up in a home where no one spoke English as their first language and no one had a degree past high school, I had to learn independently, by trial and error on exams, by reading extr" less...