ABOUT US

MIND OVER MATH TEAM

Sara Moore | Director

Sara graduated Summa Cum Laude from UNC-Wilmington where she received her M.S and B.A in mathematics. While Sara is a self-proclaimed math nerd and appreciates all forms of mathematics, she specializes in tutoring pre-calculus and calculus I, II and III. Sara also enjoys helping students to navigate test-taking, planning and the college application process. In addition to tutoring individual students, Sara occasionally teaches multivariate calculus for UNCW as an adjunct instructor. She also loves interacting with the parents and students of Mind Over Math.

Over the years, Sara has enjoyed exploring many different teaching avenues. As an undergraduate pursuing a degree in education, Sara tutored at a small, Title 1 elementary school in a low-income area of Wilkes County. The children at this small school touched Sara’s heart and even though she enjoyed the classroom experience, what brought her the most joy was working with each student one-on-one. Many of these students struggled with mathematics and out of a desire to help them and similar students, Sara transferred to UNCW to major in mathematics. Over the years, Sara has worked with students as private tutor, a math facilitator, and later as a full time instructor for Cape Fear Community College. As Sara’s private tutoring expanded, Mind Over Math was born.

Tess Miller | Assistant Director

Tess graduated Cum Laude from UNCW with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2018. Tess then completed a Master of Arts in Teaching for secondary education in 2019. Tess is originally from Richmond and has been tutoring since 2012. She first realized her love of teaching while volunteering at elementary schools in her hometown. Tess fell in love with the feeling of helping students to succeed and to reach their goals and has been teaching and tutoring ever since.

Outside of Mind over Math, Tess enjoys volunteering, traveling, reading, and spending time with friends and family. Tess aspires to one day teach for the Department of Defense, combining her love of teaching and travel.

Akemi Stoker | Office Admin

If you call our office, you're most likely to speak with Akemi! With a background in psychology and human services, Akemi enjoys helping others find their potential. Akemi completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Human Services Counseling. Akemi has been married for 26 years and has 5 young adult children and 1 granddaughter.

Here at Mind Over Math, Akemi keeps our office organized by scheduling appointments, answering questions regarding test prep, providing accounting support and generally keeping the rest of our team in line. In her free time Akemi enjoys visits with family, practicing yoga, and walking on the beach.

Anamarie Neville | College Counselor | Tutor

Anamarie graduated Magna Cum Laude from UNCW in May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Elementary Education and earned her Master's in Education with a concentration in K-12 Language and Literacy in May 2019. Anamarie tutored an array of individuals through the Watson College of Education Lab, and the University Learning Center as a certified writing tutor.

Here at Mind Over Math, Ana assists our high-school school students as they navigate the college process. Ana's expertise ranges from SAT/ACT verbal prep and academic advising to college applications and essays. Ana also enjoys helping our younger students build their math foundation through one on one tutoring.

In addition to tutoring at Mind Over Math, Anamarie teaches in the public school classroom and enjoys every minute! She has an innate passion for education, and enjoys being both a student and teacher. When not in the classroom, Anamarie enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, and exploring the history of Coastal North Carolina.

Adam Santoro | Tutor

Adam’s love for math and problem solving started at a young age with puzzle games and counting change. Originally from Syracuse, NY, Adam came to Wilmington after high school to continue his education. Adam excelled in calculus and began to tutor at Cape Fear Community College. When he graduated from UNCW with his Bachelors of Science in 2007, Adam was among the top in his class.

Adam has been working with Mind Over Math since 2010 and loves working one on one with students. Adam's passion for math allows him to tutor a wide array of students, but he particularly specializes in calculus and pre-calculus.

Kelly Griffin | Tutor

Kelly graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching in 2018 and has been tutoring since 2014. Kelly currently works as a core 5th grade tutor for New Hanover County Schools. Her prior experience includes volunteering at after school programs and tutoring for grades K-8. Kelly enjoys cultivating potential and developing a team experience with her students.

While working on her masters degree, Kelly was fortunate to take part in an international field experience in the Netherlands which focused on newcomer education. She visited Dutch primary and secondary schools and discovered a strong emphasis on the personal development of each student. Kelly incorporates what she learned abroad when working with students to discover their individual learning styles, strengths and goals.

Banks Osborne | Tutor

Banks is from Wilmington, NC, and graduated from UNCW in May 2018 with a B.S. in
Mathematics and a B.A. in Economics with departmental honors. Banks is currently pursuing an M.S in mathematics where he has tailored his studies to focus on statistics. His goal is to obtain a
Ph.D. in Finance and to conduct research in the realms of international and macro-finance.

Whether it’s in Sunday school or the classroom, Banks loves to teach students and to see their
excitement when a new idea finally “clicks.” Courses of special interest to him are statistics,
economics, and calculus. Banks enjoys helping others succeed and takes great pride in helping
students overcome their obstacles. Outside of class, Banks is planning a May wedding to his incredible fiance! Banks also enjoys serving at his church, researching interesting topics, and studying leadership theory.

Cyrus Taylor | Tutor

Cyrus is originally from Pinehurst, NC, but graduated from UNC-Wilmington in May 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics with a teaching license. While in college, Cyrus was a STAE Tutor for New Hanover County for two years, working at Ashley High School, Hoggard High School, and Murray Middle School. Cyrus was also involved in a variety of aspects on the UNC-W campus; including being a Seahawk Link, Orientation Leader, Teaching Fellow, and Watson Student Leader.

After graduating, Cyrus moved to Jacksonville, NC to teach at Northside High School. During his four years at Northside, Cyrus taught multiple sections of Math II, Math III, Advanced Functions and Modeling, and PreCalculus. Cyrus recently moved back to Wilmington and currently teaches freshman mathematics at Isaac Bear Early College. Here at Mind Over Math, Cyrus specializes in tutoring Math I, II, III and AFM.

When not teaching or tutoring, Cyrus enjoys traveling and learning about other cultures by traveling abroad. Cyrus is also a huge theater nerd, with experience in both the on-stage performances, and backstage work.

Amrit Dhillon | Tutor

Amrit graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a minor in mathematics from UNC-Wilmington in May 2019. With over four years of previous tutoring experience in both math and science for both Cape Fear Community College and UNC-Wilmington, Amrit brings a wealth of experience to her students at Mind Over Math. Amrit enjoys helping her students to master challenging concepts.

Outside of teaching, Amrit enjoys singing and painting and embroidery. This summer, Amrit has taken up yoga and surfing. She also enjoys traveling when she can.

Alex Jones | Tutor

Alex graduated Cum Laude from UNCW in May of 2019 with a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics. Alex is continuing his education and pursuing a Masters degree in Data Science from UNCW. Originally from Concord, North Carolina, Alex moved to Wilmington in 2013 and graduated from Emsley A. Laney High School.

Outside of tutoring, Alex enjoys spending as much time on or around the water as possible. Alex has passion for sailing and has been competing and coaching most of his life. When he is not on the water, Alex enjoys finding new restaurants and seeing what else Wilmington has to offer.

Jacie Shuman | Tutor

Born in Pennsylvania, Jacie received her BS in Biology, Summa Cum Laude from Widener University near Philadelphia in 2017. Afterwards, Jacie moved to Wilmington to start her MSc in Marine Biology at UNCW. Jacie is set to defend her thesis on the effects of eutrophication on zooplankton and graduate in Spring 2020.

In addition to tutoring at Mind Over Math, Jacie currently serves as a biology lab instructor at UNC-Wilmington. Her previous work experience includes serving as a MarineQuest instructor as well as providing small group tutoring at Widener University. Jacie's passion for learning covers a wide range of topics including science, English and mathematics. Jacie loves working with a variety of students and age groups, however, her dream is to teach biology at both the college and high school level.

Outside of academics, Jacie spends time with her fiancé and their two cats, Mo and Tater. For fun, Jacie loves to play beach volleyball and plays in winter regardless of the weather.

Juan Zuluaga | Tutor

Juan has a passion for nature, and is a biology major at UNCW. Love of animals and wildlife led Juan to develop a serious interest in the natural sciences. Eventually this passion for natural science brought Juan to Wilmington and UNCW. At UNCW, Juan often leads study sessions for biology, chemistry, and math. This has allowed him to develop the skills necessary to tutor students with many different learning styles, and Juan enjoys personalizing his teaching technique for each new student.

In addition to tutoring, Juan is currently conducting a research project under Dr. Raymond Danner studying hawk migration. The goal of Juan's research project is to develop an understanding of hawk migration patterns, which will help in future conservation efforts by contributing data to the Hawk Migration Association of North America.

Helen Blades | Tutor

Helen is from Raleigh, NC and is currently a junior at UNC-Wilmington. Originally an education major, Helen's love for teaching and helping others inspired her to become a tutor. As an educator with a strong analytical side, Helen is now pursuing a degree in business analytics but continues to pursue her passion for both math and teaching as a tutor at Mind Over Math. Helen specializes in middle grades math and enjoys teaching algebra to all age groups.

Outside of class and teaching, Helen is a part of the Cameron Executive Network at UNCW. As a member of this program Helen gets to work one-on-one with business professionals to further advance her own skills and network. Helen also love to run and watch football. In her spare time she enjoys spending time on the beach with friends and playing with her dogs.

Jake Stapleton | Tutor

Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Jake moved to Wilmington in 2016 to attend UNCW. Currently a senior, Jake is double majoring in Mathematics and Spanish with a minor in Statistics. His love for math and problem solving led him to share that passion with others. Jake enjoys working out complex problems and finding creative solutions. Starting the tutoring journey through the National Honor Society, Jake gained a love for helping others and showing truly how fun math can be. His favorite part about tutoring is watching others grow and master topics that were once a struggle.

Outside of tutoring, Jake loves all things sports related. He often spends his free time playing basketball with friends or picking up something new to try. Jake also enjoys music and plays the guitar and keyboard at his church where he helps lead a youth group.