Every student I've ever tutored, mentored, or coached has had one thing in common: untapped potential that just needed the right kind of attention to become visible — to them, as much as to anyone else. STEM-azing Coaching, Mentoring and Tutoring grew out of a simple belief I've carried since my own path through school: talent is distributed evenly, but access to guidance is not.
I know that gap firsthand. As a first-generation Haitian immigrant moving through the American education system, I didn't grow up with a family member who could explain how a PhD program worked, what a research assistantship was, or how to turn a passing interest in biology into an actual career. I found my way largely by seeking out mentors who were willing to spend time explaining the unwritten rules — and by remembering, every step after that, how much of a difference that made.
That's the model I try to offer students now. STEM-azing Coaching isn't just homework help. It's academic support built around direction: understanding not only the material in front of a student, but where that material fits into the bigger picture of what they're building toward. Sometimes that looks like breaking down a difficult concept in biology or chemistry until it finally clicks. Sometimes it looks like helping a student see a realistic, ambitious path from where they are now to where they want to be — a competitive program, a research opportunity, a career they didn't know was possible for someone like them.
Much of this work happens one-on-one. Through the Polygence program, I mentor students on independent research projects, guiding them from a rough idea through to a finished piece of scholarly work — often their first real experience of what it feels like to think like a scientist. I've also spent time in the classroom directly, as an adjunct professor at Hillsborough Community College, which reinforced something I already suspected: the students who struggle most are rarely the ones who lack ability. They're the ones who've never had someone sit down and tell them, clearly and specifically, what their next step could be.
So that's what I try to be: the person who sits down, asks what a student actually wants, and then helps build the academic foundation and the game plan to get there. Tutoring covers the content. Coaching covers the confidence, the strategy, and the belief that reaching a higher potential is something within reach — not reserved for students who happened to have the right people around them from the start.
If that's the kind of support you or a student in your life is looking for, I'd love to hear from you.