your Engineering tutor
I am a physicist and an experienced engineering tutor based in Toronto. I live with a cat named Tigra you might spot during a class with me. I enjoy learning languages and volunteering for a local cat rescue. I am at my happiest when I train with my dragon boat team and when I detangle complex problems.
Education:
I have been privileged to learn from the best teachers throughout my academic career. Not only have I learned to tackle hard problems, but I have observed various teaching styles and approaches, forming my own. The way I teach is informed by my own experience as a student taking standardized tests, sitting university exams and competing in national math and science olympiads, but also making and grading University of Toronto engineering exams. I know not only the best exam preparation strategies and what to focus on first, but also all the typical mistakes students make under the stress of an exam.
Featured Skills:
My own interest in STEM was fueled by interest in practical applications and advancing the technology that drives change. I have hands-on experience working on projects with applications in energy, sensing and computing, both in laboratory and running codes on supercomputers. I am also very familiar with the experience of navigating career transitions - in fact, I have moved from my background in semiconductor and quantum physics to designing nuclear reactors. I understand the challenge of starting again and learning fast, and I would gladly help anyone navigating a hard start (did you see that dragon boat pun here? 🛶)
Just like sports, studying a challenging subject requires discipline and consistence, so I know a thing or two about those. When I was training for my first marathon, the hardest part was actually sticking to the training and remembering there are no shortcuts and if I push my training to last minute, I will only hurt myself.
Learning works the same way. While I do offer last-minute help and I certainly can pack a lot of essential content in every class, I always state that the best results and the deep understanding comes with consistent practice throughout the semester.
I help students master math and physics at both high school and university level — from calculus and quantum mechanics to electromagnetism and coding assignments. My teaching is grounded in deep understanding, real-world application, and the joy of seeing students succeed. Every year I take back returning clients to continue offering my support with ever more challenging courses, but also welcome new students. I adapt my approach based on every client learning style and needs and encourage active participation.
Teaching has been my passion for years, and even now I find opportunities for professional growth and satisfaction in it. Every time I find a new way to explain a concept or have a particularly succesful lesson it makes my day. Here are a few more things to know about the services I offer:
Hear from the students I have taught in the past!
I think you were a great tutor! I appreciate your eagerness to make sure I understand concepts rather than just memorizing solutions. When I lacked fundamental understanding you walked me through the basics in way I could understand long term and derive on my own. All around you’ve been a great tutor for me and I thank you for helping me succeed!
I really enjoy working with Alena. She is always able to break down confusing topics in many different ways, making learning easier and increasing my retention of the content. She is patient, prepared and honest, and her encouragement really helped me stay motivated. My best grades in university are thanks to her, I couldn’t ask for a better tutor.
I cannot thank you enough for the support you have shown me during May-June, as well as in the winter semester. I wouldn’t have been able to get to this point without you so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!!
First off, I really loved your energy and enjoyed the time we spent together. You’re passionate and excited about your work, and that energy made me feel the same way. You broke down concepts in amazing ways that I could really understand and remember. You gave clear examples of how and why things worked, which stuck with me during exams and midterms. Your drawings for physics problems were especially helpful—they made things much easier to visualize, which helped me really understand how things worked. Your enthusiasm and passion for the subject made learning fun, motivating and me want to meet with you more and buy extra work into my classes!
Alena was amazing! Having been a first-year engineering student who was struggling with ECE110, I really appreciated having a tutor who was willing to go at my pace and lead me to get a good grade in the class! She helped get a good understanding through both leading me in computations and through visual diagrams, allowing me to understand concepts in various ways. At the same time, I still felt that I had autonomy over my own learning, as she let me provide example questions to work on, and talk about areas in which I struggled.
What I can say is that you’re very patient and will dive deep into the understanding of tricky concepts, specifically in hard to grasp theory of course like linear algebra. Your notes are very informative and easy to follow when working through problems together and I was able to use them as reference when studying on my own too.
Alena is a supportive and active tutor there to support your personal needs. She provides clear explanations and tailors to your weaknesses. She helps with diverse courses and is very detailed oriented.