Stuffed Animal Halloween Party: A Special, Spooky, Stuffed Animal Celebration!

Hello! My name is Ms. Tanya (or Coach Tanya for my sports classes). I am passionate about creating inclusive, active, and engaging spaces for students of all abilities. On Outschool, I offer exercise and personal training sessions, private tutoring, art classes, and fun camp-like activities. I graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a B.S. in Psychobiology and a minor in Disability Studies. I am a personal trainer, teacher, artist, lover of learning, outdoor enthusiast, and competitive athlete. 

I believe everyone is capable of learning anything they put their mind to and that when the teaching is done right, learning is fun!

Below are highlights of my academic and professional experience.

Adaptive, Inclusive Exercise and Personal Training:
I am a passionate athlete and personal trainer who loves creating adaptive, rewarding, and fun fitness classes. For the last year and a half, I worked at Zooz Fitness, a gym in Los Angeles for athletes of all abilities. At Zooz, first and foremost I learned the importance of building relationships with the athletes I trained. Progress is made only once we have created a foundation of trust. I learned to design and lead individual and group workouts for neurotypical and neurodiverse people (including but not limited to people with: Autism, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, and Epilepsy) of all ages. I have also worked at multiple sport summer camps for people with disabilities. 

Additionally, I am a competitive athlete. I have played ultimate frisbee for over 10 years competing on the national level in the high school, college, and adult club divisions. I currently play for  Flipside, a women’s adult club team based out of Southern California that is ranked 5th in the nation. From my experience playing, coaching (summer camps), and captaining (HS and college) ultimate frisbee and my personal training work experience, I know how to: create workout environments where everyone feels valued, prevent injuries, and design effective training plans. 

Academics:
I graduated Cum Laude from UCLA with a B.S. in Psychobiology and a minor in Disability Studies. In college, I took a wide variety of courses including: Calculus, Physics, Neuroscience, Organic chemistry, Engineering, Humanities, and many Psychology and Biology courses. In high school I took AP classes in Calculus, English language and culture, Chinese language and culture, Physics, US history, Economics, Chemistry, and Computer programming. My strong academic background and recent experience as a student, makes me well suited to teach a range of academic subjects in an effective and stimulating manner.

Learning has not always been easy for me. I have struggled and sought out tutors myself. For me, so much of my success came from passionate teachers who were able to support my specific needs and learning style. I hope that I can help provide this essential support, build a strong academic foundation, and foster a love for learning for you or your child. 

Visual Arts:
I love creating and teaching visual art! I studied visual arts for three years at Oakland School for the Arts (OSA). At OSA, I received intensive visual arts training including learning how to draw realistically, paint with watercolor and acrylic, work with charcoal, sculpture, printmaking, pen and ink, and more. I love making art in my free time and am currently learning to create digital art. As an art teacher, what I enjoy most is seeing my students turn their creative ideas into a reality!

Camp Counselor: 
I have been a summer camp counselor at ultimate frisbee camps, a circus performing arts camp, sports and arts camps, and camps for people with disabilities. Each of these experiences not only gave me a toolbox of fun team bonding, leadership development, and skill building games and activities, but taught me how to engage, support, and nurture children.

Some fun facts about me: 
I can ride a unicycle and juggle but have yet to combine the two, I am learning Spanish, and I love to cook and travel. I would appreciate your help with these skills in my classes and can’t wait to learn about your hobbies!