Sonya is a proud Chicago native who is passionate about education and spreading love of knowledge. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with two bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Russian and a minor in Sociology with a 4.0 GPA (Phi Beta Kappa). While there, she was named the Riddle Prize Most Outstanding Graduate of 2022 and was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. She also received her Master’s degree from Harvard University on a Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship. Currently, she is a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Sonya has been teaching and tutoring for the past seven years, working with students of all ages and learning styles. She is committed to fostering a growth mindset among students, firmly believing that every learner has the potential to succeed with the right support and empowering students to become lifelong learners. Her core strengths are biology, chemistry, sociology, anthropology, Russian, essay writing, and test preparation for the MCAT (for which she has scored in the 99th percentile), SAT, AP exams, and ACT (scoring near-perfect scores). Further, Sonya is well-versed in admissions consulting for college and medical school, helping her friends craft compelling application narratives that earn them acceptance to top schools. In addition, she has worked heavily with middle school and high school students teaching robotics and health. She was also a Teaching Fellow at Harvard for a global health and social medicine course. 

Outside of her studies, Sonya enjoys running, rock climbing (she’s a huge top-rope enthusiast), dancing, kayaking, attempting to cook fusion recipes, and watching Marvel movies.