"I'm Sophia! I graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor's in Biological Sciences, and a concentration in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I also got a minor in Entomology and Plant Pathology, and went on to graduate school at the University of Florida. Right now, I'm working towards my PhD in Plant Pathology: I love plants, microbiology, and biochemistry, and I work at the intersection of all of them!

As much as I love the science I do, the most impactful part of my work is getting to help students. I got the chance to be an undergraduate teaching assistant in a biology lab when I was still at UT, and then the primary lab instructor for an introductory plant pathology course here at UF. I'm also a teaching assistant for a more botany-focused lecture class. In my free time, I volunteer as a private GED tutor for low-income students. I know first-hand how important a tutor or a dedicated teacher can be for a student; when I was still in middle and high school, I had to miss weeks of class at a time for a debilitating illness, and I only made it through because of a few teachers' and tutors' invaluable help. My goal is always to pay forward the assistance and kindness those teachers gave me.

My lesson plans are target-oriented and goal-focused: I am happy to create mock exams or assignments and work through them with students, or go through homework problems and work towards solutions. I'm comfortable assisting with test prep and identifying areas that need further growth with a student, and just as comfortable with making a lesson plan around a particular subject that a student may be struggling with. While I am most experienced in teaching science, I have often worked with students on math up to the pre-calculus level, and history, English, and reading up through the high school level, and I tutor all GED subjects on the exam. Please reach out to me with any questions!" less...