Teaching

In the Fall 2025 semester I am teaching Elementary Linear Algebra (Math 3351). If you are a student in my class, see our Canvas page for course resources, or below for a summary of tutoring options and tips.

I place a heavy emphasis on active learning in my classes, and am always looking for new ways to get students involved. See below for a list of courses I have taught and descriptions of my involvement in undergraduate mentoring. Additionally, I was a teaching assistant for the PCMI 2019 Undergraduate Summer School, in the low-dimensional topology course led by Jessica Purcell and Dan Mathews, and helped with topology qualifying exam preparation while at the University of Georgia. I also have plenty of tutoring experience, from second grade through college.

I have earned a graduate certificate in mathematics education through the mathematics education department at UGA, and am an MAA Project NExT Orange ’25 Fellow.

Courses Taught

@ University of Virginia

  • Introduction to Geometry (Math 5700) – Spring 2025
  • Introduction to Knot Theory (Math 4750) – Fall 2024

@ University of Georgia

  • Calculus (Math 2250) – Spring 2021, Spring 2022
  • Precalculus (Math 1113) – Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2020 (x2), Fall 2021 (x2)

Undergraduate Mentoring

Here’s a short summary of some of my experiences in undergraduate mentoring. If you are an undergraduate student or a mentor of undergraduate students, you may want to check out the “Opportunities for Undergraduates in Mathematics” document on my math links page.

UVA Topology REU

In Summer 2024, Ryan Stees and I led a project together for the UVA Topology REU. Our group included two graduate student mentors, Louisa Liles and Yangxiao Luo, and four undergraduate participants: Ashish Das (now a PhD student at UNC), Sydney Mayer (now a PhD student at Vanderbilt), Luke Moyar (senior at UVA), and Faisal Leo Quraishi (senior at U Nevada, Reno). Our students presented at JMM in 2025, and we have posted a preprint to the arXiv containing our results!

UVA Geometry Lab

I’ve had a lot of fun participating in the UVA Geometry Lab! In Fall 2023, I co-led a project with Zivile Puospekaite on the mathematics of spirographs, which involved investigating the properties of the curves produced in our drawings and deriving parametric equations for these curves. In Spring 2024, I co-led a project with Jiajun Yan in which we studied knots via various media. We investigated the types of knots that can arise from spirograph curves, and used wire, clay, and yarn to make 3D models of the knots we discussed. Some of the Desmos graphs on my outreach page came from these projects.

Directed Reading Programs

I have mentored four undergraduate Directed Reading Program (DRP) projects to date, on topics such as knot theory, random knots, Seifert surfaces, and algebraic topology. At the end of their project, each student wrote a final report or a gave summary talk on what they learned; I have enjoyed coaching them through this process and seeing their wonderful final presentations.

General Tips for Students

Tutoring Options at UVA

Study Tips

  • Start studying for tests early!
  • Go over worksheets and finish anything you didn’t get to in class. (Don’t look at the answer before you try the problem. Once you have seen the answer, try the problem again later and see if you can do it.)
  • Redo any problems you missed from quizzes or homework assignments.
  • Come to office hours and/or tutoring (see above).
  • Try problems from the book.
  • Go over material and work problems with a friend!
  • Studying a little bit each day is much better than cramming the night before the test.

Test Taking Tips

  • Show your work!
  • If you are stuck, especially on a word problem, write down what you do know; this will help you get partial credit, and might also give you ideas on how to solve the problem.
  • You don’t have to do the test in order! Start with the problems you know how to do immediately and go back to the harder ones later. (Make sure to mark the problems you will return to so you don’t forget.)

I have completed the UGA Pride Center’s Safe Space Training and aim to make my office a safe space for all.