FALL PROGRAM EXPRESS INSTRUCTORS 2020

Lisa Cruz

Spanish Instructor

• Member of NSHSS

• Member of German NHS

• Native speaker in Spanish

• Part of a mentor organization for middle school students and worked at summer camps for low income children

• Funfact: My family and I once drove in our car from Mexico City to Michigan; it took us 5 days.

Caitlin Ramiscal

Piano Instructor

• Plays piano for 8 years

• Band: 3 years

• Member of the Concordia Initiative: makes piano videos for nursing homes

• Fun fact about me is that I do technical theater! I am the sound designer for my school’s drama department, and I also do a lot of set design and set building.

Ananya Bommakanti

Bollywood Instructor

• Tutored 2 elementary students in math for the past year

• Have been playing piano since the age of 7 

• Have been singing since the age of 4.

• A fun fact about me is that in my free time you can catch me either reading, playing the piano or violin, or writing music. I look forward to meeting all of you!!

Nylah Jordan

Step Instructor

• Started dancing at age 3

• Started stepping in 8th grade

• Express Instructor for Step Dance in the Summer Program at Learn to Express

• Fun fact is that I have actually stepped with an official step team of professionals called Step Africa. 

Obshree Saravana

Writing Instructor

• Senior Editors of Lambert's Post (school's newspaper)

• Experience being an older sister

• Fun fact: My goal is to spread my enthusiasm and wisdom about this amazing subject to other people while also helping them learn and discover the magic that writing is. I can’t wait to get started

Adharsha Ramesh

Singing Instructor

• Learnerd piano at the age of 11

• Joined choir in 7th grade

• Earned Outstanding Freshman in Choir award

• Accepted into Senior Districts and the Massachusetts All-State Ensemble

• Accepted to the NAfME All-Nationals Ensemble

• Indian classical dancer

Nicole Rodriguez

Arts & Crafts Instructor

• 3 Years in the Art Magnet program in South Miami K-8

• 3 Years accomplished in Studio Art in G.W. Carver Middle

• Acceptance into South Miami Middle’s Art Program

• 2nd Place in Youth Fair Photography Section 

• 3rd Place Minor Pianist Award

• Academic Honor Roll Awards

• Having a mom that teaches both elementary & middle school 

• Experience with tutoring

• Fun Fact: I love Starbucks!

Annick Abello

Reading Tutor

• Enjoys the art of videography and photographing people as well as reading and writing

• Hopes to inspire kids to love and use reading to express themselves and expand their knowledge

• Fun fact: Ever since I was little I have fallen in love with teaching and working with children and I am looking forward to being a part of such a great team

Shreya Dadhalwala

Reading Tutor

• Wants to be able to help kids achieve their academic goal and help them understand the lesson behind each story

• Wants to help children dig into the ideas and thoughts the authors aims to share with the readers

• Aims to make reading fun for kids and teach them how to enjoy a book and its characters

• A fun fact about me is that I’m a huge Astrology fan !

Camila Penagos

Reading Tutor

• Language arts and reading is her favorite subject in school

• Very excited to be teaching Reading at Learn To Express.

• Just recently scored a 5 on my AP English Language exam

• So excited to have an awesome fall season!

Valentina Rosa

Reading Tutor

• Dedicated swimmer at Gulliver for 7 years

• Competing for Coral Reef High School Varsity

• Enrolled in advanced Literature classes since middle school and loves to read

• A fun fact about myself is that I love to paint and hang the art up in my room. I am so excited to work with everyone soon!

Jessica Prakash

Math Tutor

• Senior vice president in my high school

• NSHSS member and an aspiring medical research scientist

• Fun fact: Among mysteries, baking, and traveling, I especially love working with children and being a light in their lives.

Moie Brenner

Math Tutor

• ​Math is her favorite subject!

• Taking AP Calculus AB

• Took Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calc.

• Member of Mu Alpha Theta at her school

• Helps her younger sister with her math homework.

• Fun fact: In my free time, I like to go in the pool, volunteer, and hang out with my friends and family.

Paulina Chavez

Math Tutor

• Loves to read, write, explore nature, plays violin, and clarinet

• Enjoys interacting with individuals and teaching the subject she loves: math 

• Loves to volunteer by packaging food and teaching students science and math

• Will make sure to fulfill everyone’s aspirations when teaching math by making it an unforgettable experience

• Fun fact: I am very excited to teach the subject that initiates our brains running on gears!

Ariadna Monseratte

Math Tutor

• Tutored her younger cousins in math and reading 

• Fun fact: I know ASL

Rhianna Smith 

Math Tutor

• IB Calculus

• 4.0 unweighted GPA

• Awards in AP History and Spanish 1 Honors

• Tutored children ages 9-15

• Fun fact:  I am a hardworking and dedicated student, and I am willing to do everything in my power to ensure that your child succeeds! Something interesting about myself is that during quarantine, I decided to take up hand embroidery as a hobby!

Antonio Salvetti

Express Substitute

• IB Program

• High School Junior

Vicky Sotomayor

Spanish Instructor

• AP Spanish Language Exam score: 5

• Enrolled in AP Spanish Litterature

• Lived in Spanish Speaking country for 12 years

• 1st Place Impromptu Speaking and Declamation in Spanish

• Fun fact about myself is that I love listening to diverse types of music, especially those that are in different languages (English, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and French). 

Laura Sophie Wegner

Piano Instructor

• Plays piano for 13 years

• Plays at various charity concerts

• Booked to play at multiple art exhibitions

• Plays the tenor saxophone in a Big Band

• Performed in Germany & Chicago 

• Fun fact: My cat is almost deaf, since she is already 18 years old, but the one thing she can still hear is me playing the piano. So, every time I sit down in front of my piano, she jumps up the chair and sits down next to me.

Kyla Johnson

Ballet Instructor

• Part of the Alabama Dance Theater

• Is an assistant teacher in lower level classes from jazz ballet and hip hop

• A fun fact about me is that I am a dramatic person. I love to recreate episodes of shows and act it out with my sisters but making it extra dramatic.

Isabella Villaruego

Writing Instructor

You can call her Ms. Isa.

Born and raised in Miami Florida as a Colombian-American

Her favorite forms of expression include music, dance, and the dramatic arts

Has a passion for different forms of writing including poems, fictional stories, or just writing down my feelings and letting them out through creative expression

She is excited to share her love for story-telling with kids and cannot wait to be an Express Instructor

Priscena Abraham

Public  Speaking Instructor

• Express Instructor in the Summer at Learn to Express

• Loves to dance bollywood

• Co-Director of Operation at Learn to Express

• Public Speaking competitions

Isabella Zambrano

Baking Instructor

Senior at School for Advanced Studies

In her free time, she enjoys writing, playing tennis, and love to bake sweets

She is a self taught baker and bakes almost every two week

She loves to bake cakes, cupcakes, and cookies

Most of her volunteering experience has been to help people in the community and I really lovse to see a smile on everyone’s faces!

She  cannot wait to meet our Express Learners and get them excited about baking!

Laura DeOliveira

Science Tutor

• Chose to join this organization because she wanted to share her love of science and offer an opportunity to children who learn for a better education

• Member of Science Honor Society

• Fun fact: I simply wish to make people laugh and enjoy the classroom experience.

Daniela Pena

Science Tutor

• Involved in organizations that focus on  Climate, Social issues, Domestic and Sexual Violence issues

• Cross Country and Track & Field team (Top 3 and have gone to League Finals)

• Excelled in classes such as Chemistry, Biology, Med Careers, Sports Medicine, and soon Environmental Science, and Nutrition

• One fun fact about me is that I have a twin brother. 

Brianna Soto

Science Tutor

• Taking college-level biology, chemistry, and calculus

• Enrolled in an early college high school

• Captain of school’s Science Olympiad team

• Fun fact: I watch documentaries in my free time and I also have a dog named Oliver and a cat named Mochi.

Sara Hayes

Reading Tutor

• Tutored reading for 3 years

• President of National Junior and Honor Society 

• Peer Assistant Leader at her campus

• Organized peer tutorials at my school once a week to help students who need extra assistance in certain areas of their coursework

• Mentored new students and elementary school children as a part of PALS 

• Gone to local elementary schools and read to kids, played board games with them, and helped them with their homework!

• A fun fact about me is that my favorite book is “Brave New World,” by Aldous Huxley.

Ella Kaufman

Reading Tutor

• Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Chain of Hope Community Service Organization 

• Published Scientific article in Cellfie Magazine (Presence of STEAM)

• 4-month independent research project 

• Model Atlanta Regional Commission 2020 Cohort member

• Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta 2020 Explorer Program

• Extensive background in writing, research and reading

• 6 months as a nanny for a 1.5 year old 

• Published scientific articles (magazine and STEAM blog)

• Lifestyle and Scientific Blog owner: Ella’s Place (book reviews, scientific articles, etc.)

• 5 years of experience in babysitting and childcare

Disha Sanghavi

Reading Tutor

• Enjoys working with kids and teaching kids!

• Lots of experience working with kids which goes from tutoring, to taking care of kids, to even coaching kids

• Part of peer tutoring in school

• Takes care of kids and volunteers at camps

• Assistant swim coach for children of all ages

• Always enjoyed reading and writing as a kid  

• anaged to do well in higher level English classes.

• A fun fact about me is that I love painting sunrises and sunsets ! :))

Victoria Lui

Math Tutor

• She is a senior this year in New York City

• She is part of the biological sciences major in her highschool

• She has a 3.75 unweighted GPA

• She loves to play soccer

Ethan Tenesca

Arts&Crafts Express Instructor

• Plays saxophone Bilingual and learning French and Russian

• Loves swimming

• Loves arts and crafts

• Enjoys spending time with children and wants to help shape the next generation

• Was accepted to Duke tip program at third grade

• In bright futures and taking AICE Cambridge classes

• Fun Fact: I used to make toys out of household items for me and my family when I was in 3-6 grade.

Gabriela Colado

Math Tutor

• Play Basketball

• AP Chemistry 

• AP Environmental Science

• Coding for 3 years

• Loves Playing Video Games and Building Models

• Fun fact: Volunteers at Zumba For Kids