Hayley
What do you like most about tutoring?
I know what a relief it was as a kid to finally have a difficult concept explained in a way that provided clarity. If I can help take the stress out of a student’s learning journey, I’m always thrilled.
What subjects do you enjoy tutoring the most?
Anything to do with critical reading and writing! I’m a writer, and the mechanics and poetics of language have fascinated me since my teens.
Why do you like working at Apt Tutoring?
Their focus on individualized approaches to learning and intellectual development. Every student is different, and Apt sessions are tailored to their unique abilities and needs.
What did you major in at college, and what was your favorite class?
I majored in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. My favorite class was my thesis writing workshop, Writing the Queer Story. It was an incredibly educational and self-affirming experience.
What were your favorite extracurricular activities in high school or college?
I was on the Knowledge Bowl team in high school, and some of my teammates are close friends to this day. In college, I spent a lot of time doing comedy and musical theater.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Writing! Short stories, personal essays, comedy sketches, musicals – whatever gives me joy in the moment.
What’s your favorite book, song (or band), snack food?
Book: Don’t Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff. Song: “We Have All the Time In the World” by Louis Armstrong. Snack food: the off-brand potato chips that they sold in my dorm’s vending machine at Barnard. I sadly forget their name.
Tell us about a favorite vacation.
Cycling solo through Ireland, England, France, and Spain the summer before my senior year of college! Apple Maps took me on a number of awful routes, and at one point, I had to push my bike through a swamp in French farm country.
If you could have a coffee with any person dead or alive, who would you choose, and why?
Gertrude Stein. I want to know what it was like to host a rotating cast of creatives in one’s home while hiding in plain sight as one half of a committed lesbian couple. In a foreign country. In the 1920s.
Salty or sweet person? What is your favorite salty/sweet snack?
It’s close, but I’d ultimately say sweet! I love Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream with Nutella on top. Perfect meal = that, plus the vodka sauce pizza at Artichoke Pizza in Brooklyn.
Please tell us more fun facts about yourself!
I make incredible apple pie. It was my grandmother’s recipe, and no one can beat it. No bakery, no veteran chef, no one.