Learn To Be Foundation

We proudly recognize Seraina Murphy as Learn To Be's tutor of the month! Seraina shows great dedication and patience in each and every tutoring session. She is always thinking of new and creative ways to make learning fun for the students. We are grateful for all her hard work and commitment to our organization. Please take the time to get to know Seraina Murphy!

Where are you from?
I lived the first half of my life in Pennsylvania and the second half in Ohio.

How old are you?
I am 22 years old.

What was your favorite subject in school?
I love physics.

What was your favorite childhood book?
As a kid, I was very fond of a series of books from Switzerland that were all about a character named Globi, and each book depicted one of his many wild adventures. All of the books were in German, but they had a ton of great pictures. If I had to pick one that I liked the best, it was "Globi's toller Tag" which is German for "Globi's Grand Day Out".

What is your favorite hobby?
In my spare time, I like doing a variety of papercrafts: making greeting cards, origami, monkiri, twilling, 3D models, and just about anything that requires paper and a tiny pair of scissors.

What is your occupation?
I am a graduate student, but I am taking a semester off from school to work as an intern for GE Healthcare.

What do you enjoy the most about tutoring for Learn To Be?
The best part of tutoring is when I get to teach clever tricks that make math problems easier to solve.

Jingshen Zhao deserves special recognition as Learn To Be's exemplary September tutor. He has shown a great passion for Learn To Be's mission and recently founded a Learn To Be University Chapter at The University of Texas - Austin. We are very grateful for all his hard work and proud to have him as a part of our organization.

Where are you from?
China.

How old are you?
18.  

What was your favorite subject in school?
It used to be math and computers, but when I was introduced to business and economics in high school, there was no turning back.

What was your favorite childhood book?
Outside of school, I was heavily indulged in the Mashimaro ("the naughty rabbit") cartoon series. Nowadays when I flip through my collection I find that some things are actually much more satirical than I thought they were.

What was your favorite subject in school?
Programming robot cars. I was the first one in my class to figure out that you first have to make the robot stop fully in order for it to turn at the desired angle. Lame, right? But later our team went on to winning robot soccer games.

What is your favorite hobby?
It's a split between scuba diving, soaking myself in TED videos, and playing different chess/checkers/board games even including Mahjong (not-for-profit, of course).

What do you enjoy the most about tutoring for Learn To Be?
I am not the first Learn To Be tutor at my university, not the first one in my city - Austin, and certainly not the first in Texas. The incredible ideals of Learn To Be propelled my zeal for web-based learning toward the notion that I must do something because there are many disadvantaged kids thirsty for knowledge. These are students who are just as bright as my own peers but are lagging behind because of the lack of resources and guidance. I alone could make a difference, but not nearly as much as if I were to get my friends involved. And with this thought came the first Learn To Be University Chapter in Texas, which became a hub for 30 tutors in just one month. So please, do consider multiplying your impact by introducing Learn To Be to other like-minded individuals.

It's that time again! Learn To Be would like to take a moment and honor an extraordinary tutor for her creativity, patience and dedication in each and every tutoring session. Ramni Khattar, thank you for your commitment to Learn To Be!  

Where are you from?
California.

How old are you?
23.

What was your favorite subject in school?
Biology.

What was your favorite childhood book?
Jane Eyre.

What is your favorite hobby?
Painting.

What do you enjoy the most about tutoring for Learn To Be?
When the kids are so eager to learn.

Max Lichtenstein is recognized as Learn To Be's Tutor of the Month for July 2010. He is an exemplary tutor and has exhibited great patience and dedication in all his tutoring sessions. We appreciate his passion for educating children and are so grateful for his commitment to our organization. Take a moment and get to know to Max Lichtenstein!  

Where are you from?
Denver, CO.

How old are you?
23.6 at time of writing.

What was your favorite subject in school?
That's a tricky one...for most of K12 it was literature, but once I started learning about physics, math and science became the light of my life.

What was your favorite childhood book?
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster wins hands down, but I think Roald Dahl's various works deserve an honorable mention.

What is your favorite hobby?
I can't pick just one...I like drawing, hiking, and climbing, but I spend more time reading. I also love doing math and physics for fun. I like to go through old textbooks to find interesting problems.

What is your favorite childhood memory? 
Hmmm....I remember when I was maybe 11 I found a gigantic Fresnel lens--that's a kind of magnifying glass that's collapsed in order to be thin. It was about the size of a piece of notebook paper. Me and my friends had fun with that thing for months. You could see the hairs on ants with it, or light fires, or put it against a mirror and make strange virtual images. I don't know if that's my favorite memory but it's certainly a fond one.

What is your occupation?
I'm currently working on getting my private tutoring business off the ground. Business is a bit slow at the moment, but I'm sure it will pick up once the school year starts.

What do you enjoy the most about tutoring for Learn To Be?
Gosh...my favorite thing about it is feeling like I'm helping pave the way for big changes in our education system. I hope the number of people engaged in long-distance teaching continues to grow, because it's a very useful supplement to brick-and-mortar schooling.