Max
Max received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Connecticut and is working toward his Doctorate in Civil Engineering from the same university. For the past two years, Max has been the Vice President and Outreach Officer for the Navy STEM Crew at UConn, an outreach program that works one-on-one and with groups of students to teach them about STEM through hands-on activities. As a tutor with Hayutin, Max supports students in math through AP Calculus (including geometry and trigonometry), AP Physics, chemistry, and environmental science. He also tutors students mastering writing, history, AP English, ISEE Test Prep. Max is also an experienced Executive Functioning coach who helps students improve study skills, time management, organization, and planning. He hopes to be a professor of engineering one day. His current focus in school is in structural 3D imaging, and he hopes to apply his research in the field of natural disasters to help affected communities recover quickly. Outside of education, Max enjoys playing the guitar, photography, cooking, and ju-jitsu.
We Asked, Max Answered
What is one of your fundamental beliefs about education?
Though I’m not the first to say this, I believe that education is a very personal journey. To me this means that quality educators tend to take the time to get to know their students beyond the scope of the work they share. I like to spend the first 15 minutes working with a new student talking about their interests outside of school, whether they’ve worked with tutors before and how that might have gone, and their goals for working with me. I also try to give my students as much agency over how we spend our time together as possible. I find that involving students in the planning of our sessions gives them some more ownership over the work and ultimately helps them progress even quicker.What is your favorite subject to teach and why?
My favorite subject to teach is high school physics. I remember learning kinematics for the first time and putting math behind the flight of a football and realizing how fundamental these concepts were to our understanding of the world around us. While this sparked an interest in me that I’ve cultivated and developed into a budding career in civil engineering, I think the way that high school physics introduces tangible explanations to everyday occurrences is exciting. It’s a joy to help students understand some of the most basic concepts of physics and even more fun when I get to tie it into my work in engineering.Share an anecdote about a time your student hit a wall and how the student overcame it.
I recently had a student who was struggling to understand how to calculate the volume of polygonal prisms. I first tried explaining it as if you were making a sandwich and that the bread of the sandwich was one of the polygonal faces of the prism. In this framework, you can consider the volume to be the space the sandwich would occupy if you continued stacking it higher and higher. While this seemed to help a little, he still struggled to actually visualize what was going on. I realized he understood the math was struggling with the 3D visualization of it. I then took it a step further and opened up SolidWorks, a 3D CAD software, to actually show him this principle in action. He really lit up and was captivated by the CAD software, exclaiming that it all made sense now!What makes Hayutin different?
Hayutin gathers like minded educators from a wide range of fields under the common goal of helping students grow not only in their studies but as individuals. They go beyond the bounds of typical tutoring to ensure that students are matched with educators who can meet them where they are and help them along their educational journey with content support and EF coaching all under one roof. Hayutin educators are empowered to take the time in sessions to build upon valuable soft skills that might not get any attention from traditional academic tutors.What is the favorite thing you've learned from a student?
One student of mine introduced me to some online learning platforms that help to gamify certain lessons like Gimkit and Quizizz. I’ve found these platforms to be very helpful working with him and other students! Sometimes learning challenging content in a non-academic setting is super helpful and creating games and challenges using these online tools can really help to that end.Other than education, what is something you are passionate about?
Outside of education and my work I’m really passionate about cooking. I taught myself to cook while living with a few friends in off-campus housing during the pandemic and really took to it! I now love the practice of planning out meals, grocery shopping efficiently, and getting creative in the kitchen. Lately my partner and I have really perfected our sourdough bread baking and it's still fun every time we bake a batch!What’s something you learned about yourself after high school that you wish you knew back then?
I wish I learned sooner to ask questions without worry. Back in high school I was a bit more timid when it came to asking for help and clarification. Now I’m quick to strike up a conversation with a professor or advisor whenever there is something that gives me pause. Not only does this practice invariably help me figure out whatever is giving me trouble, but often is followed by a great interaction. I’ve learned that those who choose to teach and offer advice typically love engaging with students who care to learn concepts more deeply. Seeing things from the other side like this really helped me overcome my reservations.What is a stretch you experienced growing up?
As a kid, I really used to struggle with organizing my time outside of school. I regularly found myself putting off my homework and studying until late at night, often at the last minute. While I’m still not perfect, I have grown substantially through my dedication to creating detailed to-do lists and calendars that help me structure my time better. I do this not only for tasks and goals relating to work, but also my personal life.If you could tutor any historical figure, who would it be and what would your focus be?
I think it would be interesting to tutor Archimedes, though my Ancient Greek is pretty rusty. So much of what I’ve learned during my civil engineering training stemmed from his groundbreaking work. I feel it would be really exciting to bring him up to speed on the current state of civil engineering that he helped build the foundation of.What’s the book on your nightstand you are dying to read?
I’ve found since the start of my PhD that my appetite for reading has been mostly satiated by the countless academic papers I’ve read as part of my research. However, I look forward to starting and ending my days practicing Spanish with Duolingo and similar language learning platforms. I have a 1 year streak!
Anything else you'd like to share?
I’m the oldest of three siblings which means I always found myself the de facto tutor of the household. Growing up, it was really rewarding to help my younger brother and sister with their homework. I still get calls from my sister now asking for help on her math courses, even as she is a sophomore in college! I’ve come to find that I love tutoring because it gives me the time to connect with my students one-on-one and really root out the source of their misunderstanding, much like I used to do to help my younger siblings.
