Meet the Team at Mathnasium of Oak Park/ River Forest

Matthew Pakulski

Matt is at the midpoint of a career centered on music, but his first academic love was math - so when he found himself with some time on his hands, he doubled the foci and made an ellipse of his career by joining Mathnasium as an instructor. With his record label FPE Records ("For Practically Everyone"), and during his time in the music recommendations technology industry, he has worked to make it easier for people to connect with music by de-mystifying it and fighting elitism in music appreciation. Matt supports Mathnasium's mission to "help kids learn math in a way that makes sense to them," and he enjoys breaking down barriers in a new arena! Fun Fact: Matt can count to Mathnasium's favorite number, 10, in Amharic, the language spoken in the capital of Ethiopia!

Samanta Kavaliauskaite

Samanta is in her last year of high school at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School. She is planning to continue her education journey with her associate's degree from Moraine Valley Community College and then transfer in-state to complete her bachelor's. She has a background working with kids from simple babysitting to a gymnastics coach at Oak Lawn Racquet, Fitness, and Gymnastics Center. She hopes to continue working with adolescence, whether that is in the medical field or teaching. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones, lifting weights, and listening to podcasts. Samanta is super eager to get kids excited about math! Fun Fact: She can speak Lithuanian fluently.

Jordy Pinero

Jordy is a student at Triton College and graduated from East Leyden High School. He is a member of the Scholars Program at Triton College, where academically talented students are granted full ride scholarships. He is currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science and plans to transfer to UIC to eventually become a software engineer. At East Leyden, he took math classes all the way up to Calculus AB/BC and helped students write their essay assignments as a peer tutor. But his experience as a tutor began much earlier, as he has helped his little sister with her math homework all the way up to the sixth grade. His favorite hobbies include cooking, going to the gym, and watching anime. Fun Fact: Jordy was selected by the staff at East Leyden to be the speaker for the graduation ceremony!

Charles Wilson

Charles, a graduate of Fenwick High School, is currently an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis pursuing his Bachelor’s in Applied Sciences of Chemical Engineering. Charles has always shown strong interests in science and math, which he credits to his lively teachers, professors, scholarly mentors, and friends. He has always enjoyed learning and explaining math, chemistry, and physics in casual settings between others and himself. Experience as a HighSight scholar who scored 30-32 composite ACT scores, a student amongst confused collegiate peers, and an older brother to an 11 year old sister has shown him first hand the difference an involved collaborator outside the classroom can make. Charles is enthusiastic to bring his style of that change to the OPRF Mathnasium team. Fun Fact: Charles has sung in multiple performances of the Nutcracker with the Joffrey Ballet!

Matt Pilditch

Matt resides in Oak Park with his wife and three children. Formally trained in medicine, he currently works part-time in Family Practice in Lisle. This has freed up his schedule to pursue one of his other passions, education. The son of a teacher and grade-school/high-school principal, Matt is building on experience he has gained teaching patients, medical students, and fellow church members. Matt is looking forward to "Math Instructor" being another successful teaching experience! Fun Fact: Matt is an avid gardener and loves the outdoors, especially camping with his family!

David Snyder

David is a graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School and the University of Michigan Ann Arbor where he studied mechanical engineering and physics. David's love for STEM started with his Lego robotics team in middle school. He then did Vex robotics in high school and went to the world championships twice! He also plays the drums and loves rock, metal, and swing music. David uses math every day, and thinks that mental math makes everything in life easier. David loved helping his classmates and friends with calculus, chemistry, and physics, and hopes he can help students at Mathnasium too. Fun Fact: David collects Runik's cube puzzles and can solve a 7-layer Rubik's cube!

Paisley Templeton

Paisley is currently a sophomore at Oak Park and River Forest High School. She is taking Pre Calculus and is excited to take AP Calculus AB/BC her junior year (2022-23). As a student who received tutoring at Mathnasium in middle school, Mathnasium has helped her gain confidence not only with math, but also with other activities. She loves how math has many applications and is relevant to her everyday life. Her favorite subjects in school are French, history, and, of course, math. Fun Fact: In her free time, Paisley sings, practices piano and guitar, travels, and takes karate classes!

Porter Jingst

Porter is a Junior at Oak Park River Forest High School. He is currently taking Calculus AB/BC and has taken Pre-Calc A, Advanced Algebra A, Geometry. He loves math, and credits it to his favorite teacher in elementary school fostering his love, and the Percy Julian Middle School Math Team for showing him how fun the intricacies of math can be to solve. His interest in education was sparked during quarantine, when he helped to tutor his friend who was trouble understanding online classes. He also has a passion for music. He played piano and percussion, but performance is currently on the back burner for him so he can focus on his other interests. In his free time, he loves spending time playing video games with his friends and listening to music. He is excited for this opportunity to explore both math and education and is ready to bring what he has to Mathnasium. Fun fact: He is taking his third year of Japanese at OPRF High School

Hayden Jingst

Hayden is a junior at OPRF High School. His favorite subject is math, but he loves the STEM field in general. He's looking forward to starting Calculus AB/BC this year, as well as AP Music Theory. His favorite hobbies are Dungeons & Dragons and rock climbing, but he's always open to trying new things and getting to learn something new. He's also a member of his school's math team, which he's done every year since 6th grade. Hayden has been playing the piano for 12 years, and been to multiple piano camps, so he's no stranger to lots of practicing. He's excited to work at Mathnasium because math is not just one of the most important things subjects, but also the most beautiful, and he wants to share that beauty with the next generation of mathematicians. Fun fact: Hayden's favorite composer to play on the piano is Chopin!

Alejandro Medina

Alejandro is a sophomore at Oak Park and River Forest High School. He is currently taking Pre Calculus, and has taken Geometry and Algebra. Next year, he will be taking AP Calculus AB/BC. Alejandro appreciates math for its daily applications, as well as the incredible number of ways in which a problem can be solved. His favorite subject are Spanish, Chemistry, and Math. Alejandro plays viola and competes in OPRFHS’s Speech Team, receiving the Degree of Distinction from the National Speech & Debate Association. He enjoys playing volleyball, as well as acting. He is a captain of OPRF’s Noteworthy , and a member of Psychology Club. Alejandro is excited to help students fall in love with math. Fun Fact: Alejandro is obsessed with playing Sudoku.

Jackie Bollinger

Jackie is a junior at Oak Park and River Forest High School. She is currently taking calculus, and looks forward to taking statistics and calculus 3 next year. Jackie has always loved math because there are so many different ways to solve a problem. Her favorite subjects in school are psychology and of course, math. Outside of school, she enjoys playing competitive soccer as a goalie and has been playing piano for 12 years. Jackie also loves coaching kids ages 4 through 8 for her local soccer club. Fun fact: Jackie loves traveling and wants to get to at least 50 countries in her lifetime!

Paloma Turner

Paloma is a rising junior at Oak Park and River Forest High school. She have taken Advanced Algebra A and PreCalculus, and is excited to take Calculus AB/BC during junior year. She plan to pursue a career in engineering, and will be attending the UIC Electrical and Computer Engineering program this summer. Paloma loves being a leader: she was captain of the soccer team at OPRF where she also started Italian club and is currently president. Her favorite class has always been math, and she is so excited to work with kids and hopefully to make math class their favorite too. Fun Fact: Paloma loves music and plays the lead guitar in an alternative rock band!

Kezia Patino

Kezia graduated from J.S. Morton West high school in 2021 and is currently an undergraduate student at the Illinois Institute of Technology where she is majoring in Architectural Engineering. She believes learning anything is possible and avidly searches for more information and works of art to inspire and invigorate her in her quest. Kezia is currently teaching herself how to work with Tekla Structures and is hoping to learn Python(only knows MatLab so far). She enjoys plein air painting as well, as it provides valuable insight on the world around her and she attempts to capture it with a series of gouache paintings. Kezia has worked at the North Berwyn Park District as a summer camp counselor and enjoys working with children. She loves working through the puzzles in math and learning more about the various applications in engineering, and is eager to help others discover how amazing math can be. In her free time, Kezia loves listening to music, making ceramics at a local studio, and playing with the family dogs(3!!). Fun fact: Kezia is currently working on invading her parent’s backyard garden with summer squash!

Gracie Maidlow

Gracie is currently a sophomore at Oak Park and River Forest High School. She loves math, both as a subject and a concept. Gracie is currently taking Pre Calculus and is excited to take AP Calculus AB/BC next year. She loves to help others learn while also extending her own knowledge. Gracie looks forward to using her skills and understanding to help others thrive to their best ability. Fun Fact: Gracie's favorite game is Monopoly

Colin Powers

Colin is entering his senior year at Oak Park River Forest High School. Colin has already taken Advanced Algebra A, Pre-Calculus A, and Statistics, and is excited to take Computer Science and Calculus AB/BC this year. His favorite subject is math because of the many ways to reach one solution, and the satisfaction of completing a problem. Colin hopes to pursue a career in math after high school. He hopes to share his love for math with Mathnasium students and show them how fun math can be. Outside of school, he enjoys playing for the OPRF hockey team, attending OPRF's Best Buddies and Spanish Clubs, and caddying at the Oak Park Country Club in the summertime. Fun Fact: Colin has played the piano for eight years!

Sophie Welch

Sophie is currently a Junior at Oak Park and River Forest High School. She has taken Geometry, Advanced Algebra and Pre-Calculus and is taking Calculus AB/BC this year. Sophie’s favorite subject is math, and she would like to major in Mathematics or Economics in college. Sophie is a part of the Tennis and Lacrosse teams at OPRF, as well as the Women in Leadership club. Sophie loves music and has been taking piano lessons since she was four. During her free time, she enjoys reading and likes to bake with friends. Fun Fact: Sophie loves swimming in the ocean, and hopes to one day swim with dolphins!

Brandon Sit

Brandon is a graduate of IIT and Niles North High School. He has completed Calculus I/II, Multivariable Calculus, and Differential Equations. Brandon credits his love and aptitude for math to his early lessons in math fundamentals from his parents and dedicated grade school teachers. Fun Fact: Brandon is a huge fan of Chicago sports teams and one day hopes to see the Bears win a Super Bowl!

Payton Lowenthal-Wojcik

Payton is a senior at Oak Park River Forest High School. He is currently taking Statistics after finishing Calculus AB his junior year. As the oldest of four siblings, he has developed a passion for teaching and plans to pursue Secondary Education in college. Payton loves to watch movies/tv, go out with friends, and travel to new places. At Mathnasium, Payton looks forward to cultivating the strengths of students while also gaining firsthand experience with educating. Fun Fact: Payton loves to collect sneakers, with his favorite being the Jordan 1!

Greg Wagner

Greg is a graduate of Davidson College where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He also has worked as a high school math teacher in the past, but currently he is a database developer. Greg has been a part of several Mathnasium teams in North Carolina, Florida, and now Illinois. He is excited to be a part of a team that helps students succeed! Fun Fact: Greg performs improv comedy with several groups throughout Chicago!

Eunice Ho

Eunice is a senior at Proviso Math and Science Academy where she has taken all Honors level math and is now taking AP Calculus BC. There, she is President of the National Honors Society, Director of cultural showcases, and Co-Founder of the Acapella club. Her love for seeing the practical applications of math and science has prompted Eunice to pursue a career as a Physician’s Associate, but she enjoys working with kids and hopes to inspire that same love for STEM in them. Outside of school, she enjoys the arts and is heavily involved in vocal performance and piano. Fun fact: Eunice can fluently speak Mandarin!

Livy Wysockey

Livy is a senior at Oak Park River Forest High school where she currently taking calculus. Livy’s favorite subjects are math and physics and she plans on studying engineering in college. She has played lacrosse for her high school for four years now. She is also a part of the Women in STEM club, Student Council, Environmental club, and Huskies for Hope. Livy loves to read and listen to music in her free time. She loves math because of how universal it is across different subjects. She hopes to transfer some of her passion for STEM to the children she tutors. Fun Fact: Livy’s favorite animal is an otter! She travelled to Alaska over the summer and got to see them.

Samuel Lubinus

Samuel is currently in his second year at Triton College and graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School. He plans to graduate with an Associate's in Arts and then transfer to a four-year university program to complete a bachelor's degree in creative writing. At OPRFHS, Samuel took several math classes all the way to AP statistics and participated on the Oak Park River Forest math team. He has a ton of experience with tutoring such as when he tutored children on the Spanish language in a daycare he worked at, taught children how to swim with the Park District of Oak Park, and taught his fellow classmates how to write effective stories and essays in his creative writing club which he founded and runs. His hobbies include writing, filmmaking, making music, and reading. Fun fact: Sam has been to Colombia over eight times!