Tiffany C. is a Pepperdine University senior studying computer science and math. Originally from Sacramento, she thinks that Saoirse Ronan movie Lady Bird is pretty relatable (though she can tell which parts were not shot on location in her hometown) and says tutoring has actually made her less of an introvert. 

How’d you choose to major in computer science and math?

I was originally undecided when I applied and honestly, I don’t know what the turning point was. I started off with computer science then added math later. While thinking through all my options that summer beforehand, computer science was what interested me the most, so when I got an email right when school was about to start freshman year asking if I was still undecided, I decided to give computer science a shot. I hadn’t had any experience with it before, but once I got to school and started taking classes and meeting different people within the major, I grew to enjoy it. Adding the math major was more of a natural flow: I have always enjoyed math, and thought it made sense. Now I actually want to become a math professor one day.

Is that what you want to do short-term, too? Teach math?

After I graduate next spring I still have to take two general electives. I’m taking a world civics class and a religion class through the Pepperdine Summer Abroad office in Lausanne, Switzerland. I’m also hoping to see as many countries as I can during that time: it’s much easier to travel to other European countries when you’re already in Europe!

Short term, I’m also preparing for grad school, probably in math. I’m studying for the GRE, but immediately post grad school, I’m not sure exactly what I want to do or where I want to study. I’m considering heading to the Bay area: LA has been great but I actually am not sure I’m as much of a big-city girl as I thought.

Do you have any favorite math subtopics or problems?

The math elective that I found the most interesting is combinatorics; simply, a friend and I joked it was about learning how to count. It’s about learning different permutations and calculations, ways to count items, and listings of them. It’s actually really fun.

How did you get started tutoring?

I finally got a car during my junior year, which allowed me to be more mobile. And I knew if I was going to get a job, I wanted it to be related to something I was doing in school. Tutoring felt like the most natural thing to do. 

What’s your tutoring philosophy?

Everyone comes from different math backgrounds. I’ve had students who’ve actually enjoyed math, but obviously others don’t share that same sentiment; it’s just something they have to do to get through school. It can be difficult to adapt to different learning styles and knowledge backgrounds but I do understand the sentiment of not enjoying math. Even as a math major, sometimes I don’t enjoy certain classes. It can get really hard and frustrating, so I understand where that feeling comes from. If that happens with a student, I relate to my own experience. Ultimately seeing people with different math backgrounds and interests still coming to the same conclusion of a problem because, well, it’s math, is satisfying.

How did you develop your own tutoring style?

I didn’t have tutors in particular myself, but going to my professors’ office hours and seeing how they help me when I don’t understand particular topics has been helpful. 

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome as a tutor?

When a student is not particularly interested in the subject, getting them to solve the answer without me feeding it to them can be challenging, especially since I mostly tutor math. If a student isn’t interested, they often don’t want to try, and it can be hard to get them to think about the question. I have to be careful not to solve the problems for them. I found that me as a tutor I have to be very patient. If I’m not patient, it’s easy to be like, “This is the answer, this is how, let’s move on.” But that’s not the point of tutoring. 

What’s your best advice for students you tutor?

That it’s okay to be stuck on a problem. Being stuck doesn’t say anything about how smart you are or anything else. This is something I adopted from my professors here: a lot of the learning process does come through struggling with the question. I encourage my students with the idea that the process is where the learning comes from. Then, when you do have that breakthrough, it will stick better than if someone just told you the answer.

What have you learned about yourself through tutoring?

I consider myself a very introverted person, so part of me was a little worried about being a tutor, especially knowing I’d sometimes get called for a last-minute session with a student who is not one of my regulars. I was worried about how I would be in that situation - if I would be awkward, etc. But it turns out, I realized, I’m not just showing up of my own accord. I’m going as a tutor for a specific purpose and knowing that helps me in being able to open up to the student. It also feels more natural in a way to discuss math as a common ground to start discussion that way and from there, slowly make small talk in between questions. It’s been really helpful to have that in terms of opening up conversation and getting to know students. 

As a double-major and PCH tutor, do you have any free time?

My free time is limited, but when I do have spare time I enjoy playing guitar. I also enjoy watching movies. My favorite is Memento - it’s one of those movies where, when you get to the ending, it just makes you want to watch it again. In Memento there’s a big reveal and it kind of leaves you with this “wow” factor that makes you want to go back and figure out why that ending makes sense.