Meet the staff ready to help students ace their math courses.
BY: FAWWAZ ASHRAF
Staff Writer
Math is an expansive and complex discipline but the Math Tutoring Center at Meramec is dedicated to making sure everyone can understand any level of math offered at St. Louis Community College (STLCC). It can be found on the second floor of the library, to the right if one goes up the central staircase, and it’s open from 8 AM to 8 PM on Monday through Thursday and 8 AM to 4 PM on Fridays. However, with “STLCC Transformed” kicking into gear, the location will change to the Student Center cafeteria soon. There’s also an online version that’s open everyday.
Getting help at the Math Tutoring Center is simple. There’s no need to make an appointment; just sign in with your A-number, work on your math, and raise your flag if you have a question. Then, one of the many experienced tutors will walk you through the problem and make sure you understand how to solve it.
The Math Tutoring Center at Meramec is run by Jeff Howell who joined the program in June of 2020 and is also an STLCC alumnus. After completing his associate’s at STLCC, he went to the University Of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) to pursue a bachelor’s in political science. He then returned to school in Chicago to study engineering and computer science and there he built a strong math background. During this time, he was also tutoring math, and that’s where he got his start in education. As the director, he handles the hiring and payment of tutors, coordinates with the math department for embedded tutoring, and works on the online tutoring system, but he’s also one of the tutors and a resource for students to be successful in any class.
Other than Howell, there are many others dedicated to helping STLCC students:
Arian Moslehi
Moslehi is currently pursuing his master’s in health data science at Saint Louis University and has a bachelor’s in math with a minor in computer science and statistics. The highest level of math he’s completed is real analysis, a class where you learn the proofs for calculus formulas. His favorite part about the Math Tutoring Center is the people and sharing the tricks he’s learned for math with other people.
Jaden Jones
Jones is currently a student at STLCC and plans on pursuing his bachelor’s in electrical engineering. Right now, he’s taking Differential Equations meaning he’s completed up to Calculus 3, and he’s planning to take Linear Algebra in the spring. Outside of his academics, Jones also plays for STLCC’s baseball team, the Archers.
Tony Willett
Willett has completed his bachelor’s and master’s in math from University of Central Missouri. His favorite part about working at the Math Tutoring center is getting to fulfill his passion for teaching and seeing improvement in students, and one of his favorite concepts in math is topology, the study of how objects can be transformed into different objects through math. A fun fact about Willet is that he loves JRPGs, and his favorite series is Persona/Shin Megami Tensei.
Max Ptasiewicz
Ptasiewicz has completed his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Colorado- Boulder and has completed differential equations, linear algebra, and many computer science math classes. His favorite about the math center is getting to do math all day and keeping his skills sharp. His favorite classes are Calculus 3 and Linear Algebra due to their practical uses, and a fun fact is that he has 9 fish tanks and 3 dogs.
