The OMA&D Instructional Center’s (IC) motto “to teach is to learn” certainly rings true. On average, over 85 percent of the University of Washington undergraduate students who serve as academic tutors at the IC advance to graduate or professional schools, including the latest group of eight who will continue their pursuit of higher education in the fall of 2012.
Ranging from math, chemistry, physics and biology tutors, the group includes three members of the Class of 2012, three from 2011 and two from 2010.
Math tutor Carlo Foppiano, ’12, originally from Peru and a chemistry undergraduate major, has been admitted to UCLA Medical School. Math tutor Daniel-Edgar Zayas-Trujillo and physics tutor Vladimir Lefelman (pictured above, on right) are also 2012 graduates. Zayas-Trujillo, a math major who came to UW from Seattle’s Franklin High School, has been accepted to graduate school at Seattle University and Lefelman, originally from Israel and a civil engineering undergraduate major, will attend graduate school at UW.
IC tutors from the Class of 2011 admitted to graduate or professional school are Thomas Ward (chemistry/biology tutor, bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and genetics) who will pursue a Ph.D. in genetics at Stanford University; Ramil Mateo (chemistry tutor, bachelor’s degree in biology) who will attend UW Dental School; and Michael Nguyen (chemistry tutor, bachelor’s degree in biology) who will attend the University of Pennsylvania Dental School.
Biology tutors and 2010 UW graduates Paul Ma and Michael Tran have been accepted to the UW Pharmacy and Medical Schools, respectively. Ma received his undergraduate degree in biology, while Tran was a biochemistry major.
Established in 1970, the IC is a comprehensive learning center that provides academic support to OMA&D students. Led by director Barry Minai, the IC employs a staff of professional instructors in addition to the approximately 50 student tutors. Instructors and tutors are available for nearly every academic discipline or major with an emphasis on math, science, engineering and technology.
The philosophy held by former math instructor Ferdinand Dario – that teaching students to interact and rely on each other was a valuable asset to their education – continues to guide the operations of the IC, combined with a priority to hire OMA&D students and IC users as tutors.
For more information about the IC, visit its web site.