Pictured: Sasha at age 2 with his Mom, Natasha
It all begins with an idea.
Born to Belarusian immigrants in the heart of the Silicon Valley (cough cough, Sunnyvale), Sasha’s parents, though still making “their way” in America, constantly nurtured a love (and the necessity) of Mathematics in his life. This deep appreciation for Mathematics was only further fostered by Sasha’s Grandma (“Babushka”), Svetlana (in Belarusian, her name means “The light” ), who’d assign problem sets, on yellow notepads, that never seemed to end.
In spite of Sasha’s initial Math struggles, he pushed through, achieving acceptance to the prestigious CTY program at the age of only 12. Six years later, Sasha achieved a near-perfect score on SAT Math (790/800), along with 5’s in AP Calculus AB, and BC.
After graduating Monte Vista High School, Sasha enrolled at the University of California, Davis, majoring initially in Neuroscience, Physiology, and Behavior. But upon the advice of his late Grandpa (a former Chemical Engineer), who he still loves deeply, he changed his major to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
In June 2023, Sasha graduated UC Davis.
In August, Sasha will formally begin his DDS studies at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine.
Pictured: Sasha at age 2
Despite being born into a family of teachers, mathematicians, and programmers, Sasha’s tutoring journey did not officially begin until 8th grade (and unofficially, 3rd grade).
In 3rd grade, after being too loud, Sasha’s teacher, Mrs. Goeppart, asked him to come to the board and teach the class about a science concept. Initially hesitant, Sasha’s mini-lesson to the class was well-received. Though this was his “punishment”, it sparked the fiery passion that is behind Sasha’s teaching today.
Finally, in 8th grade, faced what seemed to be never-ending teacher replacements for Algebra 1, Sasha took matters into his own hands, teaching the class about difficult concepts like equations, inequalities, and function transformations. Staying after school to tutor for free felt natural for him. It was not a chore - it became a mission.
Almost 10 years later, this mission continues.
Today, Sasha and his talented team tutor over 43 subjects, trying not just to “tutor” subjects, but to ultimately transform (and inspire) student lives for the better.
Pictured: Sasha at age 3 with his Babushka, Svetlana Ivanovna Shvakel