Past Tutors
Christine Xie, CEO
Stanford University
Hello, I’m Christine Xie! I’m a senior at Palos Verdes High School, and I have a 4.9/4.0 GPA. I am happy to tutor in any academic subject area as I have received 5s on 8 AP exams (Physics 1, Chemistry, Biology, Calc BC, and more). In addition to being an AP Scholar with Distinction, I am three-year Editor-In-Chief of the Triton Yearbook, Captain of the PVIT UAV team, Captain of the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team, Founder/President of The Branch, President of Mu Alpha Theta, President of Science Olympiad, President of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Club, and a Vice President of Science National Honors Society. Outside of school, I enjoy conducting bioengineering research to better elucidate neurological disease pathogenesis and to restore patients’ lost motor function. In my free time, I love meeting new people, scrolling through Pinterest, baking, laughing with friends, and trying new restaurants with family. I’m super excited to meet all of you!
Samantha Lekawa, CEO
University of California, Los Angeles
Hi everyone! My name is Samantha Lekawa and I'm a senior at Palos Verdes High School. I have maintained a 4.0 unweighted and 4.9 weighted GPA. I am also an AP scholar with distinction, having received 5’s on Chemistry, World History, and Psychology. I am also apart of the Varsity Song team at Palos Verdes, and many activities around school, including many clubs, French National Honors Society, CSF, and Link Crew. Although I can tutor in all subjects, my best subjects are mathematics, chemistry, and french. Outside of school, I enjoy volunteering in the National Charity League, and fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. In my free time, I love to hangout with my friends, binge Netflix shows, and bake. I’m looking forward to meeting you all!
Ransom Liu, CEO
University of California, Irvine
Hi everyone! My name is Ransom Liu, and I am a senior at Palos Verdes High School. I am recognized as an AP scholar with Distinction. I specialize in teaching math, Chinese, physics, and computer science. On campus, I am a percussionist for the PVHS Marching Band, a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, PVIT, and the lead pianist for our school’s drama shows. I am the programmer for our school’s VEX robotics team, where we went to Worlds in Dallas and placed 24th out of 800 teams! I also created a new PVIT team with Alex Naehu called Micromouse, where we compete with miniature robots. Outside of school I am the secretary for a volunteering group AYLUS, where we do beach trash pickup biweekly. In my free time, I love to play piano, tennis, read books, and play table tennis with Alex. I can’t wait to meet and work with and work with you!
Angel Shen
University of California, Los Angeles
Hi everyone! I’m Angel Shen, a senior at Palos Verdes HS with a 4.0/4.97 GPA. I enjoy all subjects, but my favorites are science, math, and English. My scores of 4s and 5s in AP Chemistry, Biology, Calc BC, Psych, and World/US History recognize me as an AP Scholar with Distinction. I have also earned the APID due to my fluency in English, French, and Chinese. At school, I am President of the Science National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, and French Honor Society, and a CARE board member. I am a huge advocate for women in STEM, having founded both the club SiSTEM and the international volunteering organization SiSTEM Teaches. Outside of school, I enjoy researching regenerative medicine at the Lundquist Institute/Harbor-UCLA and publishing my research in the Journal of Emerging Scientists. I embrace interdisciplinary learning, combining my passion for chemistry (20/624th in the ACS Olympiad) with that for art (3x Scholastic Arts Silver Key Winner) when writing and illustrating educational books on Amazon. Otherwise, you can always find me jamming to Frank Ocean, baking, or playing Roblox with my friends!
Vanya Agrawal
Washington University in St. Louis
Hi everyone! My name is Vanya Agrawal, and I am a senior at Palos Verdes High School. I am an AP Scholar with Distinction and have a GPA of 4.87/4.00. My favorite subjects include music, physics, French, English, and math, and I have years of tutoring experience at Best-in-Class Education Center. At school, I am a president of Tri-M Music NHS, Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), and Palos Verdes Organization for Women (PVOW), a secretary of Science NHS and French NHS, a vice-president of Philosophy Club, and a member of National Honor Society. In my free time, you’ll find me binging new shows on Netflix, testing chai recipes, teaching Indian classical dance, and going to the cafe with friends! I look forward to working with you!
Rose Feng
Amherst College
Hello hello! My name is Rose Feng and I’m a senior at PVHS. I have a 4.0 unweighted and 4.9 weighted GPA as of now and am happy to tutor in Biology, Environmental Science, English, Piano, and Chinese. I’ve taken (and gotten 5s on) AP Biology, AP Lang, AP Environmental Science, AP European History, AP US History, and some more. In school, I’m part of Varsity tennis, Science NHS, Music NHS, Art club, French club, and Philosophy club. Outside of school, I am one of the founding members of BSA Girl’s Troop 258 and had served two terms as Senior Patrol Leader. Some of my hobbies are making art, watching dark films, and dreaming up stories for my original characters.
Clarence Lin
Claremont McKenna College
Hello! My name is Clarence Lin, and I am a Senior at Palos Verdes High School. While I have a particular fondness for Math and English, I am more than willing to tutor anyone in any subject. Along with being an AP Scholar with Honors, I also maintain a 4.9 weighted GPA. I have a broad range of interests, participating in Mock Trial, Model United Nations, the UAV team, and have been the Section Leader for the Marching Band's Brass Section for three years. Outside of school, I am working on a machine learning algorithm that will help improve preemptive measures against detrimental water conditions (particularly in third world countries), and am the Senior Patrol Leader for Boy Scout troop 783. In my free time, I enjoy playing sports like tennis or football, practicing my trumpet and French horn, and reading (my favorite genre is fantasy, though the majority of the material I engage with originates from thinkers like Kant, Dazai, and Sartre). I am looking forward to working with everyone again this year!
Kyleigh Cunningham
University of Southern California
Hi! I’m Kyleigh Cunningham, a senior at PV high. I have a 4.6 weighted and a 3.9 unweighted gpa. In school, I am on the varsity song team, a link crew leader, a reporter for live from 205, and a part of over 5 clubs including project runway and science research. I am in CSF, NHS and PAC. Outside of school, I volunteer every week at community helpline and have achieved 100+ hours of community service for families in need through NCL from many other philanthropies for the past 5 years. I also work as a hostess at little sisters in redondo beach, so come and say hi! I lived in Madrid, Spain, for a part of my elementary school life and learned spanish. I took Spanish 3 Honors in the 8th grade and 4 AP as a freshman. Therefore Spanish is one of my stronger subjects, although I also love english and science. In my free time, I love to dance, watch Netflix and spend time with my friends. I look forward to meeting you all!!
Natalie Wang
University of California, Berkeley
Hello! My name is Natalie Wang, and I am a senior at Palos Verdes High School. I have a 4.8 weighted GPA, and am an AP Scholar with distinction. I scored 4s and 5s on AP Chemistry, Physics 1, Biology, English Lang, Spanish Lang, European History, and World History. Outside of the classroom, I am the Middle School Liaison for Model UN, captain of the First Robotics team in the PVIT program, and team captain of the cross country team. I am more than happy to tutor a variety of subjects, and am looking forward to working with you!
Sedona Ding
University of Chicago
Hi everyone! I’m Sedona Ding, a senior at Palos Verdes High School. I have a 4.9 weighted GPA and a 33 ACT score, as well as the title of AP Scholar with Honor. I specialize in teaching younger students all subjects, having practice tutoring my two sisters. In school, I am Executive Producer of Open Orchard Productions, a broadcast journalism podcasting course, and am on the board of Be the Change. I am Vice President of Morgan’s Message, a club that promotes mental health awareness in student-athletes. I am also an active member of CSF, NHS, SNHS, NEHS, SHH, and I am the captain of the varsity softball team. Outside the classroom, I have served multiple positions in National Charity League, and assist in coaching a 14u softball team in my USA Athletics travel organization. I also give private softball lessons. You will often find me on the softball field, where I spend most of my hours, but when I’m not training I love cooking with friends and traveling!
Alex Naehu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hey guys! I’m Alex Naehu, a senior at PVHS. I have a 5.0 GPA and am an AP Scholar with Distinction. In school, I am Secretary General for our Model United Nations program, a Software lead for the PVIT First Robotics Competition (FRC) Software team, as well as a cofounder of Micro Mouse. I am also a nationally ranked runner and team captain for the Varsity Cross Country and Track team. I enjoy garage-ping pong with Ransom Liu (our CEO) in my free time as well. Outside of school you can find me on the road running, at the piano botching classical pieces, or in the kitchen whipping up a storm. With prior experience in tutoring independently, I am excited to work with you through PV Tutoring Co. See you all soon!
Mark Lin
University of California, Berekely
Hey everyone! My name is Mark Lin, and I’m a senior at Palos Verdes High School. I am an AP Scholar with Distinction, have a 4.0//5.0 GPA and 1560 SAT. I could talk for hours about random historical facts and the sciences, with World History AP being my favorite class so far! My love for science has led me to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), where I earned 4th place in the category of microbiology. After a lengthy process, I was additionally able to obtain a patent on my research in August of 2023! In school, I am Drum Major of the Marching Band, President of Model United Nations, Co-founder President of Science Research Club, and President of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Outside of school, I am the former Senior Patrol Leader for my local Boy Scout troop, coming with a love for outdoor activities. On weekends, you’ll find me biking, surfing, binging TedED videos on “the history of cheese,” or cooking with my home-grown algae. I’m looking forward to working with you!
Derek Su
University of California, Berkeley
Hello, my name is Derek Su! I have a 4.0/5.0 GPA and taken 8 AP’s so far: AP Chemistry (5), AP Physics 2 (5), APUSH (5), AP Lang (4), AP Chinese (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP Psychology (5), and WHAP (4). I’m most comfortable tutoring math, physics, and chemistry. As for school activities, I’m the president of Chinese National Honor Society, co-founder of Asian Culture Club, competed in the CyberSecurity and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) teams, co-founder of Technology Student Association, member of Science National Honor Society, Vice-President of Physics Club, software developer for First Robotics Competition (FRC), board member in Math Honor Society, and Captain of PV High’s Swim Team. Outside of school, I like to volunteer, practice piano pieces I know are too difficult for me, fry my mental and physical capacity in the gym, and read books to learn.
Elayna Pope
California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo
Hey everyone! My name is Elayna Pope and I’m a senior this year at PV High. I have a 4.87/4.0 GPA and an SAT superscore of 1490. I am an AP Scholar with Distinction, and will have taken 13 AP classes by the end of this school year. At school, I am one of four Editor in Chiefs for the award winning Triton Yearbook program, one of the Vice Presidents of the Branch Club, a member of NHS, CSF and NEHS, a team member in Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a Link Leader, and I am on the Varsity Girls Golf Team. Outside of school, I am the AYSO Region 10 U5 Division Coordinator, I help out with the 3-5 year olds at my church on Sundays, and I spend every spare minute I have buying and reading books. I tutor primarily in math, but I am happy to help out with other science, history, or english classes. I look forward to meeting all of you!
Will Corry
University of Michigan
Hello! My name is Will Corry and I am a senior at Palos Verdes High School with a 4.8/4.0 GPA. At school, I am co-president of the Future Medical and Science Professions club, co-president of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society Club, and a member of french club. I am also a part of National Honor Society, French Honor Society, CSF, science Research, and play varsity soccer. Outside of school you will find me playing piano, running, in gym, or hanging with my amazing friends. One of my proudest accomplishments is raising $268,000 with my friend for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an organization extremely close to my heart. I am a strong student in all subjects but specialize in math, science, and French. I look forward to meeting you!
Anna Peti-Peterdi
University of Southern California
Hi everyone! My name is Anna Peti-Peterdi and I am a senior at Palos Verdes High school. I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA and a 4.8 weighted GPA. I am an AP scholar with distinction, scoring 5s and 4s on AP World History, AP Spanish 4 Language, AP Environmental Science, AP Language, and AP Seminar. In school I am commissioner of technology in PV’s Be The Change Leadership Class. I am Vice President of Spanish honors society, President of Science Journal Club, and a member of Science National Honor Society, CSF, and Science Research. Through Science Research I got the opportunity to go to the International Science and Engineering Fair and placed 3rd in the Cellular and Molecular Biology category. Outside of school, I have spent hundreds of hours working and conducting my own research at USC’s Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute. In my free time I enjoy listening to music, nature walks, and spending time with family and friends.
David Su
University of California, San Diego
Hey everyone! My name is David Su and I’m a Senior at PVHS. I have a 3.97 unweighted GPA and a 4.97 weighted GPA. My favorite classes are math, physics, and chemistry. At school, I’m part of the varsity swim team, CSF, National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, PVIT, Co-founder of our TSA 7th period class, and Co-President of National Chinese Honor Society. Outside of school, I’m a Co-President of the student board for Pressfriends. I love volunteering with Pressfriends at elementary schools during the school year and Boys and Girls Clubs in the summer. Our annual events are extra fun :D! In my free time, I like to go to the gym, watch anime, learn anime songs on the piano, or play some video games with friends! I aim to alleviate any concerns you students might have about school!
Lauren Peckovich
Tulane University
Hi everyone! My name is Lauren Peckovich, and I’m a senior at Palos Verdes High School. I have a 4.6 weighted GPA and I’m an AP Scholar with Honor. In school I’m the Commissioner of Activities for Be the Change and VP of Donation for Spanish Honors Society. I’m also the VP of Community Outreach for the Branch Club, and the VP of Media for Youth in Government. Additionally, I’m a part of Model United Nations, and I was formerly on the Palos Verdes High School Track and Field team. My favorite subjects include history, english, and environmental science, and I received 4’s on AP World History, AP Spanish Language, AP Environmental Science, and AP Lang. I can tutor in a multitude of subjects ranging from math to spanish. Outside of school I love to read, travel, bake, and spend time with my friends and family.
Rohan Gianchandani
University of California, Los Angeles
Hi! My name is Rohan Gianchandani and I am a senior at Palos Verdes High School with a 4.9 GPA. I have taken several AP and honors courses and am an AP Scholar with Distinction receiving 5’s on Chemistry, Spanish, English, Comparative Government, Human Geography, Psychology, and World History. In school, I serve as president of CARE, VP of Membership for Science National Honor Society, and VP of External Relations for MUN. I am also involved in science research, swim, CSF, NHS, and Spanish NHS. Outside of school, I serve as President of my volunteer group, the Luna Peak Links, and work as a host at a restaurant. In my free time, I like to cook, go to the beach, watch shows, and hang out with friends. I look forward to working with you!!
Sophie Sun
University of California, Berkeley
Hi everyone, I'm Sophie! My strengths are in English, Environmental Science, and Chinese. I've maintained a 3.9/4.0 GPA and am an AP Scholar with Distinction. I'm the oldest of 3 and have extensive experience working with students from elementary through high school, so I'm comfortable with students of all ages. On campus, I'm a member of various honor societies and lead programs like Speech and Debate, PVOW, Library Club and more. Outside of school, I'm a huge advocate for sustainability and am currently working on improving food sustainability in PVPUSD. In my free time I love reading books of all genres (especially memoirs and fantasy) and painting with oil and water colors. I hope to see you soon!