$50/hr for Gr 1-10 | $60/hr for Gr 11-12, Uni | A multi-awared academic scholar and engineer who has a strong background of math and science (Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Statistics, Physics, Chem

Find out more about Jenica

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I've always loved teaching and get fulfilment out of it.
  
  I was the top of the class in primary and middle school and just loves sharing to my friends how to solve math problems (even chemistry and other sciences too!) They'll go to my place and I'd teach them prior to big exams. It's also because I want my buddies to succeed as well. Fast forward to uni years, I then taught my buddies one on one solid geometry lessons and some other engineering mathematics topics. I was not charging anything during that time of course. For me it was just the right thing to do.
  
  Then, at corporate field for work, I was praised by some leaders for my ability to structure lessons and train people. As of writing, I have already mentored and taught 10 interns from different universities (4 overseas, and 6 in University of Melbourne Australia) while doing high-impact projects with them. In doing so, I was also awarded 2024 Young Professional of the Year in Greater Shepparton Business Network (care of La-Trobe University) in Victoria Australia. I just enjoyed sharing my knowledge and leading younger people, and I can see the impact of what I'm doing.
  
  It was the beginning of last year (2024) that I started to create a profile at SuperProf to teach further students and impart my interest for Math. And so far it's great! Not only did my students (both students and professionals) learn maths, their confidence was also boosted and they know they can take on harder maths after every session! That itself is a reward apart from the hourly rate I earn from this platform. That is why I love tutoring.
  
  To share, the photo below shows me with a young student I taught when I was 16 years old. This is part of our outreach program where we went to rural areas and teach students even just for few hours. It was just natural for me to be inclined teaching, and I am happy I have this gift to share to people.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I love discussing most of maths, and particularly my favourite topic is solid geometry, followed by algebra (all algebra!) and the triangles (and everything that comes with that massive triangle topics such as sine, cosine, angles, identities, and etc). I enjoyed these topics when I was studying them and have made some techniques for myself that I can share to my students.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  Back at my uni years, our professors are mostly young adults who enjoy both the corporate and manufacturing world (just like me) and do some teaching to university students at the same time. That made them well-rounded in both industry and academy, and they are really capable of preparing the students on what to expect after graduation, not just "in-paper" credentials but also in real life. Particularly, one professor that I look up to was a female dean in our faculty (faculty of engineering), and later on became professor in Cornell University in New York. Those people back at my university years are who I consider my role models.
  
  I was also fortunate to be trained in an institution that values "teaching". Here in the photos, you can see me wearing a yellow engineering shirt while teaching fluid statics, and a second photo is shown while I was pointing at my laptop teaching filtration unit operations (chemical engineering topics which is math and science intensive). Followed by two other photos where I am presenting and sharing a findings. I was fortunate that we were just in an environment where teaching and sharing is enabled, that is why years after, I still have those tools instilled in me to also teach more people.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  To be a good tutor, first you need to know where the students are at and how they view the subject. That will help you understand what the students' attitude is towards math/subject and it will help you "taylor-fit" a lesson or way of teaching just for them. I also want to know the present difficulty level of tasks being given at school/uni. This will dictate the difficulty level of the worksheets I can give to the students. Some students appreciate a progressive difficulty level (easy, moderate, hard) while others want to go straight to the difficult tasks. Either way, the students and I learn along the way what other foundational topics need to be improved, which is usually the "root-cause" of why they're struggling in the more advance topic. Math is "stack" knowledge - the better your foundations are, the easier math will be. Lastly, to be a good tutor, you need to know what their motivations are and use that to remind them to keep going during the difficult times. After each session, the student must feel more confident instead of overwhelmed. I'm quite happy to receive positive reviews from students and parents about how their/their children's confidence is boosted after each session.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or are still facing in your subject?

  Mathematical solutions-wise, I have not really faced a difficulty that my students and I were not able to navigate. I'm fortunate that my students are also open to communicate specific points they struggle on.
  
  Practically, maybe it's challenging when students from 10th-12th grade and from uni have different models of calculators. Haha! Location of buttons can be confusing, but kidding aside, this challenge is super minor is just something funny. :)

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  My passion aside from teaching is product and process development. I am an engineer by trade and has always been in the Research & Development for almost 9 years now in manufacturing companies. I have created different products and processes for different global brands and I just love the challenge that my job poses at me. Most of the time, my job requires me to "problem-solve" an issue, a limitation, or just think outside the box to give a solution to a challenge. That's probably the reason why I love Math as well. Similarly, you're given a challenge or a problem to solve, the journey is the solution, and the outcome is being able to get the right answer - is both fulfilling and helpful.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions)?

  I am a Superprof mainly because I care for the student's learning. I treat every tutoring session as a possible make-or-break session if they will pursue a higher education because they find math exciting, or they will stop because they find math exhausting and uninteresting. I want them to see that there's a whole realm of possibility if they understand math and find its potential. I want them to consider STEM as a possible field, and even if they don't consider it, I want them to not get intimidated by math and use it in their day to day lives (percentages, fractions, ratio, everything!). For me, teaching the young ones is not just a a side-hustle that you exchange your time for an hourly rate. For me, teaching the young ones is important as I have the ability to change their attitude and perspective towards a specific topics (Math for example). And with the changed attitide and view of so.