"Hi, I'm Alys. In high school, I was named a National Merit finalist, regularly placed in mathematics competitions, and won an award for my German skills. I graduated cum laude from Marquette University with a major in journalism and a minor in German, while taking a number of computer science courses on the side. I’ve since become a technical writer and tutor, and I've realized one of the things I enjoy most is helping others with their writing, computer, and math skills.

The majority of my experience is teaching adults, but I've taught students of all ages writing and programming in Java and Python. I've also helped students use Microsoft Excel, browse the internet, and improve their grammar and vocabulary. Finally, I've taught small classes and answer questions from new Python users online several times a week

My overall approach is to first assess what a student needs to learn and use that information to tailor whatever prepared materials I’m working with. It’s much more important to me that your tutoring session is valuable to you than merely getting through a lesson plan. As I answer your immediate questions, I share the principles to help you gain a deeper understanding. While I’m happy to explain (or re-explain) as necessary, I try to maximize the amount of time you work on your own. That being said, I'm flexible—if asking me questions for the entire session is what you need, I'm happy to do that.

I've used Excel across multiple jobs and courses, so I know its ins and outs. I've seen it used and abused, so I can guide you to a good solution, not just one that technically works. I've taught people how to enter their first formula and helped coworkers unsnarl huge spreadsheets in Excel.

Python has always been my favorite programming language. I’ve used it for a variety of tasks: aggregating data, building websites, and automating tasks. It's cool to see so many people new to programming using Python to try something totally new.

I have an appreciation for and experience with all kinds of English —" less...