Homework Help: Lower Stress and Boost Performance With Foundation Learning

Bayley holds a Bachelor’s from UCLA, where she graduated summa cum laude, and holds a Master’s from Penn State University. With over eight years of experience in elementary and art education, she has a proven track record of developing and implementing a curriculum that fosters critical thinking, creativity, and cultural awareness in students of all ages and backgrounds.

With a passion for helping others, Bayley aims to make applicants feel heard, valued, and empowered. She is thrilled to support students during their academic journey and give them the dedicated guidance they need to succeed. Bayley strongly believes that having a committed team of mentors is crucial to helping students navigate their challenges. Unfortunately, not all students have access to such a team, which makes her role even more important. Bayley is passionate about fulfilling this role and is excited to make a difference in students' lives.

As an educator, Bayley is committed to nurturing students' creativity, critical thinking, and self-expression. She believes in meeting students where they are, fostering a non-judgmental space for open dialogue, and cultivating authentic connections built on trust and respect. Bayley recognizes each student's unique strengths and abilities and works to nurture their talents, build their confidence, and feel empowered in all aspects of their life. 

Bayley understands that students need different types of support to stay motivated, and she feels it’s important to create a comfortable environment where they can feel free to ask for help if needed. Providing a safe space for students to express their emotions and feelings is crucial for getting them back on track when they lose motivation. As a counselor, Bayley is dedicated to guiding students through challenges with empathy, understanding, and a genuine desire to foster growth.

Beyond her professional role, her personality and character mirror the qualities she brings to her counseling practice. Bayley is approachable and down-to-earth and wants to be relatable and empathetic in every interaction, recognizing that vulnerability is often the first step toward success. Whether offering a listening ear, sharing personal insights, or providing guidance, Bayley seeks to inspire hope and instill confidence in those she supports.  

Outside of counseling, Bayley is an avid basketball fan and art history buff. She is passionate about discussing all things art. Whether running, kayaking, or paddleboarding, she gravitates toward water. Her fitness regimen also includes boxing, and she enjoys painting and creating digital art, building a successful portfolio over the years.

Katherine earned a BA from Duke University, where she achieved ACC Honor Roll status and made the Dean’s List, before earning her MEd at Southern Methodist University. At Duke, Katherine was a Division 1 athlete, team captain of the varsity swim team, and four-year letterwinner. Katherine has eight years of college admissions counseling experience as a College and Career Counselor and Dean of College Prep at Uplift Education, a nonprofit organization that operates a network of 45 high-performing, tuition-free, public charter schools serving 23,000 students in under-served areas across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. 

She also served as a Corps Member for Teach for America. Katherine has coached 500+ students who have been accepted to MIT, Brown, UChicago, WashU in St. Louis, Johns Hopkins University, NYU, and Notre Dame, among others.

Katherine became interested in admissions counseling because of how grateful she is for her own college experience. Katherine realized how lucky she was to have parents, friends, and family who had been to college and could support her through the application process. She also felt privileged to have been a recruited athlete. But she recognizes that not everyone is as lucky, and felt called to help others have a positive experience with college. 

Katherine values communication and recognizes the importance of getting to know students holistically at the start of a counseling partnership. There are so many factors involved in finding the "best-fit college," and Katherine’s passion stems from her love of talking to students, listening to them, and helping them develop plans for their futures. She thrives on the relationships she’s built with students and it brings her joy to check in with them throughout their college and post-college years and see them find success.

Katherine excels at empowering others by listening to them in a way that makes them feel heard and respected. When she offers her opinions or advice, students recognize Katherine’s collaborative teaching style and know she is not trying to change their minds or make them take a path that's not for them. While students know she is available any time of day for help, Katherine loves to empower students to figure things out in their own way before collaborating with her for help. 

As a counselor, Katherine is organized and reliable. One of her favorite parts of college counseling is the personal statement. She loves helping students reflect on their lives to come up with a compelling topic, and her essay editing style helps students find and maintain their voices. Katherine is a guide with extensive experience that helps her empower students to feel confident in their submissions and decisions.

Katherine believes that the most important tactic for keeping students motivated is to build a relationship with them first to ensure they know she understands what they’re going through and that it’s okay to take breaks and practice self-care while working toward a successful future. Katherine tells students to think about the morning after high school graduation and to imagine that feeling of what's coming next, to make sure they have a solid plan because entering "the real world" is not easy.

Outside of work, she loves to spend time outside with her husband and four-year-old daughter, Emma. Katherine was diagnosed with celiac disease in her junior year of college, but she doesn’t mind being gluten-free because cooking makes her happy, and she loves trying new recipes, and finding gluten-free bakeries and new restaurants. She tries to work out or walk every day and loves to play tennis with her husband. She also enjoys reading, listening to music, and watching TV shows that make her cry (either happy or sad tears!).

Shawn earned his Bachelor of Arts in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Motivated by the belief that 90% of learning occurs beyond the classroom, he embarked on his tutoring journey several years ago. His extensive experience includes tutoring math, science, and reading for low-income students, teaching English to students in China, tutoring for UC Berkeley's Molecular and Cell Biology department, and serving as a teaching assistant for a biology course at Berkeley.

Shawn's passion for tutoring stems from his belief that true understanding of subjects goes beyond the confines of the classroom. He considers it a privilege to facilitate the learning of others, finding immense fulfillment in assisting others to grow, flourish, and grasp challenging concepts. He specializes in ACT, SAT, and HSPT tutoring, as well as biology, chemistry, math, and computer science at all levels, including AP. 

Shawn adopts a hands-on tutoring approach, tailoring his sessions to suit each student's unique needs. He firmly believes that engaging in thorough discussions and providing well-curated resources enables students to attain academic success more efficiently. Shawn's sessions feature active discussions, rigorous practice problems, and comprehensive textbook readings. He prioritizes individualized attention, rejecting the notion of speed limits or predefined approaches to content. With his interdisciplinary professional expertise, he adeptly guides students to discover their own learning paths across science, math, and reading.

Shawn excels at providing positive reinforcement and fostering a supportive environment where students feel encouraged to make mistakes and embrace the learning process. When students encounter challenging subjects, he employs various strategies to break them down into manageable problems. He emphasizes understanding the broader significance of learning and relates concepts to real-world applications, hobbies, or interests to enhance engagement. By incorporating analogies, humor, or pop culture references, he offers fresh perspectives on topics, motivating students to stay focused. Additionally, Shawn utilizes visual aids, drawings, diagrams, and mnemonics to provide new insights and facilitate comprehension from various angles.

In his free time, Shawn likes playing electric guitar with his friends in their band and biking the trails around the East Bay area. He also enjoys creating video games, writing stories, and collecting interesting books and textbooks. One time he stuffed so many books in a box that it disintegrated and he had to pick through a book-valanche!