Christopher

Certified Tutor

A tutor with over 3500 hours experience, Chris has known that he wanted to teach since he was a little child, and he is in the process of fulfilling that dream. In his graduate work at the University of Chicago his research focused on post-World War II American literature and the representation of character, working with theories from cognitive neuroscience to try and understand the magic by which authors can transform marks on a page into what seem in our minds to be living, breathing persons.

In his classroom teaching at Roosevelt University, Chris likes to focus on genre fiction (such as sci-fi, romance, or westerns) and introductory courses, but he's particularly fond of tutoring, because it's the style of teaching in which an instructor gets most clearly to see students improve.

In his free time, Chris is an avid cook. He particularly enjoys preparing Mexican and Chinese food, and he grows his own chiles for making salsas and moles. Every Fourth of July, he throws a pig roast for all his friends (and to give him an excuse to try out new recipes).

Chris is a compulsive music collector. He loves listens to everything from ABBA to Japanese jazz-metal to Gucci Mane, but he remains utterly incapable of playing any instruments or even carrying a decent tune.

Chris also enjoys camping, backpacking, and paddling, as well as weightlifting. He has gone on extended treks in Glacier, Sierra Nevada, King's Canyon, Yellowstone, and Rocky Mountain National Parks, as well as several sections of the Appalachian Trail, near which he grew up. He loves living in his adopted home of Chicago, but he says he needs to spend a little time each year surrounded by trees in order to stay sane!