Hey there,
I’m Robin!
I’m a TEFL-certified English teacher with a passion for language learning and creative approaches to teaching. Here’s some of my answers to some common questions students have asked me.
I’ve called a lot of places home throughout my life, but I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. There I lived in a small town on the island of Oahu. That said, I grew up mostly in California, in the Bay Area. Every winter we travelled back to Hawaii to see my relatives and to stay for a while, but we always came back to our home in sunny California.
Fun Fact: Most of my schooling was done in California, but I did the whole of second grade in Kailua, Hawaii!
All my life, I’ve been a passionate learner and I did very well through all my years of public schooling in the USA. I studied hard in school, played sports, and played in several school bands. At 18, I graduated high school with honors and got into the college of my dreams.
In 2014, I started college at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and I received my Bachelors degree in Psychology with a Minor in Education. After working for several years, I went back to school and received an amazingly thorough certification in ESL Teaching from the International TEFL Academy!
I’ve always loved to learn and just as much to share the things I know. Growing up, I would often help my friends with math or science, English, Spanish, even music. In middle school and high school I did volunteer tutoring with other students younger than myself. And then in college, I started my journey as a professional. I worked as a paid tutor at UC Santa Cruz, leading one-on-one sessions and also many in groups. Now, many years later, I’ve got my ESL teaching credential and a whole business of my own!
Language is my passion–both in and out of the classroom–but also the arts as a whole. In my spare time I like to write creative fiction, draw pictures and silly comics. I love all manner of creative expression, really. I even play and write music! Right now I’m learning Spanish and also heavily investing time in the pursuit of full Spanish fluency! I love sports, pretty much all of them. I like cooking and making fun creative meals. I love the outdoors, taking photos of beautiful things, and just enjoying the fresh air.
And when I’m not out doing all of that, I can likely be found spending time with my lovely wife, curled up with a book, or working on my next lessons for all of you!