Meredith

Certified Tutor

I was born and raised in Dallas and am a huge Mavericks and Rangers fan. I attended high school at The Hockaday School and received my BA from SMU. I am also a recent graduate from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

My tutoring experience began in 2003, when I decided to move to Chicago and spend a year with AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps is a lot like the Peace Corps, only volunteers stay in the US and work for a variety of independent charities and organizations. I worked for The University of Chicago Center for Urban School Improvement an initiative of the university to bolster education in some of the city's lowest achieving schools. During the school day I served as a Literacy Tutor for students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. I also provided homework help and math and literacy tutoring for K-8 students in an after-school program. At the conclusion of the school year, I was part of a team of two tutors whose students demonstrated the most improvement of all the students in the program, and I was selected to attend the Leadership Training Seminar by the Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service. During this year I fell in love with the Windy City, the Cubs, and deep dish pizza. I also learned a lot about keeping students engaged by finding a way to help them relate to the material. I believe that the most effective teachers are those who are willing to learn from their students. Overall, it was an extremely rewarding experience.

Also among my most rewarding life experiences has been the opportunity to study and travel abroad extensively. While at SMU I completed a summer session in the South-of-France and a semester in Paris. In law school, I spent a summer studying International and Comparative Law at Trinity University in Dublin, Ireland. Perhaps the most rewarding experience of all was being able to spend my final semester of law school as an exchange student at the University of Hong Kong, China. The chance to learn and study with students and faculty of diverse nationalities and cultures has been both enlightening and exciting. It truly generates appreciation for learning and the greater world community.

My experience has taught me that, when it comes to education, learning isn't always confined to a classroom setting. I don't believe that superior performance on standardized tests is the most crucial part of one's educational experience, but high scores have become increasingly important across almost all grade levels. I have been fortunate enough throughout my academic career to have had good success with standardized testing. I was a National Merit Scholar and scored in the top 10% on the LSAT. Good preparation is vital for building confidence when facing intimidating exam conditions, and I believe my insight can be helpful to students wishing to improve test scores, reduce test anxiety, and raise general academic confidence.

I truly enjoy working with students at all levels and from all backgrounds. I look forward to being a part of your child's academic success.