The Lives of Students We Have Touched

Avish Sharma

School: Sydney Boys High

Qualifications: Bachelor of Advanced Science, University of Sydney

Date: January 2010

“When I first met CL it was clear to me that he wasn’t your average ‘run-in-the-mill’ tutor. My older brother Yohan had told me to expect something different, and so I was a bit apprehensive coming into our first session; a feeling that turned into fear upon my 30 minute late arrival; the first words he spoke to me were, “You forgot your phone didn’t you?” I started sessions with CL at a later stage then most other students, when my half-yearly exams were finished; and I was staring down the barrel of a below par result in my Trials. Once you get past his tough-guy look (CL was once a bad-ass bouncer), he proved to be incredibly accessible, friendly, and quite adept at creating an excellent learning environment. CL’s hardworking nature was a great example for me and the simple philosophy of his teaching and learning methods made it easy for me to understand and practice all of his academic advice. He has a way of bringing the best out of his students. Though his job description is as a tutor, CL provides so much more than that. He has become a good friend and mentor, helping me with things such as life issues and university scholarship applications (which ended up being successful!). In tangible terms, my Maths results improved by over 30% whilst I was with CL, leading to an ATAR/UAI of 95.35. Intangibly, the man has left me with so much more from his lessons than I ever expected; it is an experience that I am very thankful for.”

“JD, like CL, is a pretty funny guy. He’s also an outstanding English tutor. One of the first things you’ll notice about JD is his funny accent, as he hails from Somerset County in England. This instills in him a sense of patriotism for the “Motherland” and he still views Australia as nothing more than a “penal colony” with horrific weather. However more to the point, he engages in the “leisure activities of the more traditional English gentleman,” such as being terrible at football – but the most prominent of these is reading. JD has an incredible knowledge of literature, an asset that was hugely advantageous to my learning. His ideas were both strong and original; often covering new ground beyond was discussed in the classroom, helping me take my essay writing that step further, whilst extending my understanding of the course. JD’s patience and encouragement were always reassuring, and his constant availability, even during his exams, or the Architecture Revue, always helped ease the stress of impending trials or HSC exams. Under JD’s guidance, I achieved a Band 6 result in English with a score of 92%, my best result in the HSC. Whilst I had always considered myself a good English student, JD’s support was crucial to my HSC result. Sessions with him were always challenging as we sought to improve my essays and creative pieces (leading to some highly charged moments of inspiration), but always proved rewarding. In the end, I am better off academically for my time with JD, but have also gained a great friend.”