Our Team

 Kelly Fields, Instructor

Although Kelly is a medical office manager by day, she enjoys being a part-time Mathnasium Instructor and connecting with our students. Her favorite part of of working with students is when a student has an "aha!" moment and understands the math concept they have been struggling with. She currently has two high school students at home and has experience homeschooling each of them at different stages of their education. Kelly's motto is "Stay positive and don't give up!  If it doesn't make sense, let's look at it another way."

Favorite Math Topic: Teaching how to count from any number to any number - This important skill helps with so many other skills!

   Favorite Math Joke:  "Why was six afraid of seven?  Because seven eight nine!" 

   Hobbies:  Volunteering at her local animal shelter, running 5K races, and eating sushi

 Jillian Foster, Instructor

Jillian is a junior at Appoquinimink High School. When she is not teaching math, she enjoys time with hobbies and friends. She is currently taking AP AB Calculus.

Favorite Math Topic: Algebra & Calculus

Favorite Math Joke:  "I saw my math teacher with a piece of graph paper yesterday. I think he may be plotting something!"

Hobbies:  Coding, board & electronic games

 Nicholas Graybeal, Instructor

Nicholas is a junior Computer Science and Applied Mathematics & Statistics major at Liberty University. He enjoys serving the Lord, hanging out with friends, and having deep discussions about theology and other random things.

Favorite Math Topic: Whatever I am currently learning; I love learning math

Favorite Math Joke: “Why was the equal sign so humble? Because she knew she wasn’t greater than or less than anyone else.”

Hobbies: Reading, board & electronic games, spending time with dog

 Nathaniel Li, Instructor

Nate is a senior at York College of PA. When he is not teaching math, he likes to code and cook!

Favorite Math Topic:  Infinite series

Favorite Math Joke: What do you call a bad Math Joke? Derivative humor!

Hobbies: Computers, ping pong, driving

 Chris Kline, Instructor

Chris is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He graduated from Smyrna High School in 2018. Besides teaching math, he enjoys biking and taking trips to Philly.

Favorite Math Topic:  Algebra

Favorite Math Joke: "I'll do algebra and I'll even do calculus... But graphing is where I draw the line!"

Hobbies: Hanging out with friends, biking, and lifting 

 Hayden Taylor, Instructor

Hayden is a sophomore in teh computer science pathway at Odessa High School. He spends most of his free time on his computer and he plays tennis for his school. 

Favorite Math Topic: Algebra

Favorite Math Joke:  "There are three types of people: those who can count and those who can't."

Hobbies:  Programming, fencing, tennis, and music

Kylie Taylor, Instructor

Kylie is a freshman mechanical engineering major at the University of Delaware. Along with teaching math, she enjoys reading, listening to music, and hanging out with her friends.

Favorite Math Topic: Algebra or Calculus

Favorite Math Joke:  "You want to know something odd? Every other number!"

Hobbies:  Reading, watching movies, playing with her dogs

 Ngoc Tran, Instructor

Ngoc is a freshman business major at the University of Delaware. She enjoys reading books. listening to music, and spending time with friends when she is not teaching math.

Favorite Math Topic: Calculus

Favorite Math Joke:  "I had an argument with a 90 degree angle. It turns out, it was right."

Hobbies:  Reading, swimming, watching movies

 Carl Van Valkenburg, Instructor

Wishing to spend more time with their grandkids, Carl and wife Jane moved to MOT in 2016 from Texas, where Carl was a music teacher and musician. He still teaches not only math but also violin, viola and piano.

Favorite Math Topic: Probability and Statistics

Favorite Math Joke:  Did you hear about the mathematician who was afraid of negative numbers? He stopped at nothing to avoid them!

  Chris Wellborn, Instructor

Chris graduated from Millersville University and Delaware State University. He currently teaches physics and engineering at William Penn High School full-time.

Favorite Math Topic: Geometry

Favorite Math Joke: Why did the mathmatician spill all of his food in the oven? Because the directions said to "put it in the oven at 180 degrees"

Hobbies: Hiking, drawing, and hanging out with his grandson 

 Tara Woodall, Instructor

Tara is a senior at Middletown High School. She enjoys playing clarinet in band and symbols in indoor drumline, as well as extracurriculars Best Buddies and ASL Club. She's looking forward to a future career in Speech Language Pathology.

Favorite Math Topic: Algebra

Favorite Math Joke: "I had an argument with a 90 degree right angle. It turns out, it was right"

Hobbies: Band, sign language

 Larry Martinek, Our Founder 

 "Children don't hate math. What they hate is being confused,     intimidated, and embarrassed by math. With understanding   comes  passion, and with passion comes growth--a treasure is   unlocked."