Meet the Team at Mathnasium of Salem

Jean Love

Jean works in our center as an instructor and is inspired by our students. With an extensive background in education, business, and the nonprofit sectors, she brings a well-rounded world of real-life math experience to our students. When sharing what attracted her to Mathnasium she stated: “Simply put, Mathnasium makes learning math fun. Not only do students gain a strong foundation on which math skills develop and build, they also gain confidence in their own abilities which transfers to other areas of life. Knowing you can do something and believing in your ability to accomplish anything is a powerful combination.” Jean earned her undergraduate degree in History from Davidson College in North Carolina. Regarding her college experience she shared, “While putting myself through Davidson College, I was fortunate to spend my junior year abroad in Germany. The experience of living overseas, meeting people from a variety of cultures, and traveling to multiple countries was an amazing opportunity for which I will always be grateful.” Jean currently is the founder and Executive Director of The Thoughts & Gifts Project (TAG), an all-volunteer nonprofit serving low-income youth and seniors in Polk County. TAG helps celebrate their birthdays by providing free gifts, birthday cards, and books to promote literacy while making each recipient feel valued within our community. While not helping others at Mathnasium or at TAG, she enjoys reading, doing puzzles, and spending time with family and friends.

Andrew

Andrew holds a math teaching license after completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with a Minor in Computer Science from Western Oregon University (WOU). Born and raised in Salem, Andrew is a graduate of Sprague High School before continuing his academic career in higher education cumulating with his Masters in Teaching: Advanced Math from WOU. Andrew was drawn to Mathnasium because it only focuses on math and the unique approach to teaching. He loves that math is logical and leads us to technological wonders. In his spare time he enjoys computer coding, watching sports fan and thoroughly loves music from live shows to being lost in the sounds in solitude. For his senior project in college, he mathematically calculated how “alike” two musical artists are using graph theory and illustrating how two seeming opposite artists are really connected.

Rhys

A student at Western Oregon University, Rhys joined our Mathnasium team in the fall of 2021. Moving to Oregon from Texas, she was familiar with Mathnasium from her own personal experience in middle school. She was attracted to helping students at our center because of how Mathnasium focuses on fundamental skills rather than simply memorization and is efficient in its approach. During her time as a student, she witnessed how the instruction helped her and other students alike in making breakthroughs in their math comprehension. Preparing for college, she received stellar scores on multiple math exams including a 5 on the AP Statistics exam and AP Calculus AB. Her love of math stems from feeling like math is a puzzle, taking multiple steps to arrive at the answer. Now, she wants to help others build own confidence in math. It is this desire to help others that has drawn her to educational psychology as career. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with friend, reading, writing, and playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Joseph

Joseph, a McKay High School graduate, and current Junior at the University of Oregon, joined Mathnasium in the summer of 2022. At UO he is pursuing a double major in Mathematics and Computer Science along with Economics. He loves working with students of all ages as their individual personalities adds character and value to the learning environment. He was drawn to Mathnasium for the opportunity to share his love of math with others and have an impact within his home community. During his academic career, he has always shined in mathematics competing in regional competitions and scoring a 770 out of 800 on the math SAT. During his senior year, he also received the Outstanding Achievement Award in Mathematics. In high school he excelled in both AP Calculus and AP Statistics. As he continues his studies in math, this past fall he received an A+ in Math 342 Linear Algebra II.

Hannah

Hannah joined our team in the summer of 2022 and is a Senior at Sprague High School where she carries an unweighted 4.0 GPA. She has excelled in math by completing AP Calculus AB this past year and plans to take either AP Calculus BC or AP Stats this fall. Hannah’s academic career has included AP Government, AP Physics, along with three other AP courses. This year, she will be taking a total two other AP level courses in addition (pun intended) to her math course. Hannah enjoys teaching others and sharing her love of math, its logical steps, and relates it to a puzzle while finding provable answers. She became interested in Mathnasium and our process of teaching after learning of us from her brother, a former instructor and current OSU Honor’s College student, and her best friend, another instructor at our center. She is very active in sports including snowboarding and tennis while also spending time with friends and family. One interesting fact of Hannah – she has a fear of cone snails after watching an episode of The Octonauts. Hannah is a legacy instructor for us as her older sibling is a former team member.

Ollie

Ollie is currently a student at West Salem High School where they continue to stand out as one of the top student in their class. With a passion for helping others, Mathnasium was a perfect fit for combining their love of math and the joy of sharing this knowledge with those who have struggled. “I recognize that without a strong understanding of the basics, children will be unable to succeed in future math classes they take.” This past year they completed AP Calculus and will be taking AP Stats this fall. Math is a course that has always been an interest to Ollie as they have scored high on both state and national math exams. With a wide range of interests, they have participated in over fifteen different sports including club teams and individually and enjoy reading, doing ceramics, and painting. Ollie is a legacy instructor as their sibling is a former instructor and brings deep compassion and empathy for assisting students who are struggling and have low confidence.

Brin

Brin joined our Mathnasium team in the spring of 2023 as an instructor. She is going into her senior year at Sprague High School where she participates in cross-country and track. A lover of puzzles, math has always been enjoyable as the challenge of solving problems with a definite answer. She also enjoys spending time doing just about anything outdoors, music, crocheting and serves as a youth leader in her church. Brin continues to excel at having taken Calculus AB in her junior year and will be taking AP Stats. She plans to go into the nursing field after completing college.

Eli

With a desire to help students better understand math, Eli joined our team in 2023. Originally from Portland, Eli graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Political Science and minors in Mathematics and Food Science. During studies at UO, Eli’s completed coursework included Multivariable Calculus and Fundamentals of Abstract Algebra. Having worked in multiple customer and client serving positions, Eli has worked with a wide variety of individuals including students with ADHD in the past. Their passion for education is shown not only by their studies at UO, but also by their study abroad in the UK and volunteer work at the library.Eli is also a long time musician having played the cello for many years. Going forward, Eli looks forward to becoming a classroom teacher and working with elementary students.

Lexie

Currently a senior at West Salem High School, Lexie is excelling in her academic career. With a 4.0 unweighted GPA, she is currently taking AP Calculus and is a member of the Robotics Team which has competed at the World Competition the last two years. Additionally, in 2023 she was a part of the only Salem team to go to Vex Robotics Word Championships where they won the Judge’s Award. She is a member of the Math Nationals Honors Society, has qualified for the Oregon State math Competition, and has scored a 740 on the Math portion of the SAT. In her spare time, Lexie enjoying reading, coding, and doing crochet.

Amelia

Currently a senior at South Salem High School, Amelia wants to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy math. Amelia is a problem solving and enjoys working in a team environment. She enjoys being able to solve complex problems creatively, building upon her solid foundation of sound processes and concepts. Having already completed IB SL I and II, she is currently enrolled in IB HL Math and has scored a 770 on the Math portion of the SAT. Having lived in Washington DC for a year when younger, she loves to meet new people, traveling, and learning new languages. In her free time, Amelia enjoys reading, baking, animals, and running with friends.

Sydney

Coming from a family of educators, Sydney joined our team of instructors in January of 2024. A junior at West Salem High School, she is passionate about community engagement and education. Sydney is actively involved as the Co-Editor-In Chief of the Titan Spectator which is the West Salem High School student run publication and serves on the school Principal’s Advisory Board providing insight into problems currently facing student engagement and mental health. Additionally, she manages social media content for Voters of Tomorrow’s Oregon Chapter helping to engage youth in the political voting process. A highlight of her youth advocacy work was when she was able to travel to Washington DC on behalf of the YMCA to meet with legislators on a national level. A member of both the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honors Society, she has completed AP coursework in Spanish Language allowing her to translate for Spanish speaking families during Parent-Teacher conferences. Sydney is currently enrolled in AP Calculus having scored As in College Algebra through Chemeketa Community College where she has also participated in the Chemeketa Community College Regional Math Competition, AP Statistics, and Pre-Calculus.