About
Hi everyone! My name is Ronnie Li, and I'm working towards my PhD in Neuroscience and Biostatistics at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. I have been teaching and tutoring since I was a sophomore in high school, and I've loved every moment of it. I love getting to know my students on a personal level, so that way I can break down the material in ways that are tailored towards their interests and hobbies. I am also very creative; I often give unconventional homework assignments to my students such as writing a song about a topic in biology, but I have always found that doing so helps them retain the information better.
I graduated from Brown University in 2015 with a BS in Neuroscience, and I am currently studying to become a university or medical school instructor. At Brown, I was a teaching assistant for the introductory biology and neuroscience courses, and I tutored on the side for about 20-25 hours per week, even though I was not required to. A lot of times these students were from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, so I would offer to tutor them for free or for a very low cost. Teaching is a passion for me, and it's about more than money. In fact, I was so effective as a teaching assistant that I became the only undergraduate in Brown's 250-year history to receive the Teaching and Advising Award, which had always been given to faculty.
I love the fact that I can form meaningful connections and often lifelong bonds with students I would have never met if they hadn't contacted me. I truly enjoy mentoring students, and if I'm able to make a significant difference in the life of one person, that is enough for me. My goal is to leave a footprint on someone's life so that they might say they are doing something positive because of me.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
In addition to being the student's formal tutor, I always try my best to get to know the student on a personal level. I am genuinely interested in people's stories, interests, and beliefs, and this helps me tailor my explanations to the student's needs. My first tutoring session is always a preliminary meeting to discuss the logistics, and it is free, so you can try out the service and decide whether you want to continue risk-free.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I graduated from Brown University, an Ivy League institution, in 2015 with a Bachelor's of Science in Neuroscience. I am currently a PhD Student in Neuroscience at Emory University, where I combine neuroscience, computer science, and mathematics to gain insights into large datasets. I have been teaching and tutoring since sophomore year in high school. After, I was a teaching assistant at Brown and then a co-instructor for an elective course at a nearby high school in Providence. Currently, I tutor three students, and I serve as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate course called Behavioral Neuroscience at Emory.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
My pricing depends on the difficulty of the subject and how much time I have to put in for preparation before each lesson. For example, I would charge more for organic chemistry tutoring than for high school biology tutoring.
Of course, I am open to negotiation, since I have worked with students of many backgrounds. If you travel from far away, I do take your travel distance into account. I also offer discounts to students who stick with me for a long time!
How did you get started teaching?
I discovered my love for teaching when tutoring my neighbor in honors biology when he was a freshman in high school. His mother was impressed with my ability to explain concepts clearly, and she suggested that I seriously think about incorporating teaching into my career. Honestly, I never knew I would be an effective instructor, but ever since that occasion, I have continued to eagerly seek teaching and tutoring opportunities.
What types of students have you worked with?
Throughout my extensive teaching and tutoring career, I have worked with students from all walks of life—all kinds of socioeconomic, religious, racial, and cultural backgrounds. The academic backgrounds of these students varied tremendously, too. I have helped a student study basic GED material, and I have tutored my friends in organic chemistry.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
The best advice I can give a student looking for a teacher is to be open-minded. As a person who took a lot of neuroscience and psychology courses, I know that we have unconscious biases, so you may already have an image in your head of what the ideal teacher should look like, talk like, and act like. However, I would encourage you to recognize that implicit bias and be mindful of it. There are so many wonderful people out there, and you will never know you struck gold until you keep digging.