Calgary West
Tutoring

Ms. Sarah Huang

Centre Director

I was born in Taiwan and moved to the States to attend Junior High and High School. After that, I came to Canada to study at the university in Vancouver. In 2013, I changed my career to become a preschool teacher. I obtained a diploma in Early Learning Childcare Education with Bow Valley College and taught for two years.During those years, I found out that I really like challenging myself and helping others. Aside from that, I enjoy watching children develop confidence in them, especially when they gain new knowledge. The smiles on their faces are priceless! 

Ms. Reeba Sara Koshy

Centre Director

Master of Education, Master of English Literature

I am a passionate educator with a teaching career spanning over six years. I began my teaching career as a primary teacher and then moved onto the position of a college instructor. However, before I began my professional career path, I was tutoring various subjects and also teaching dance on community development platforms since facilitation had always been my passion since I was four years old. I am certified in trauma awareness by Calgary and Area Child Advocacy Centre. Four of my research articles have been published in international journals and my poem ‘Romeo’ is part of the anthology titled ‘Shakespeare Sings’ which was published in commemoration of Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary.

Being a polyglot, I love learning new languages and I am trying to improve my proficiency in French. I am currently pursuing TESOL (online) from Arizona State University.

Ms. Brittany Gilstrap

Education Director

I graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor’s of Applied Linguistics, along with French and Russian as foreign languages. Part of my degree was completed at Université Lumière Lyon 2 in Lyon, France as a direct exchange student, where I also worked as an English tutor at a neighbouring high school. After graduating, I spent four years in Moscow, Russia initially teaching English and French at a language school for all ages and levels, ultimately working as a Director of Studies for four language centres in and around the Moscow area. As a Director, I created and conducted teaching training seminars and designed curriculum for French and English courses. I’m also a certified Cambridge Speaking Examiner for Cambridge University Language Assessment, and it is a true pleasure preparing students for and assessing them on grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation, discourse management and interactive communication. I love seeing and experiencing the second language acquisition process and enjoy teaching everything from the foundations of the alphabet to university entrance exams.

Mr. Stevens Rancourt

Education Coordinator

I graduated from Universite du Quebec in Trois-Rivieres with a B.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language and I have been a high school teacher for the last 18 years! I have been a coach, an educator, a teacher and a mentor for most of my life!

I enjoy teaching mathematics, science, French/ English as a Second Language and Immersion.

Mr. Geo Thomas

Tutor

Get to Know Me:

I am a math and physics teacher by profession. I did a Masters in Physics from India and completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from South Africa. I worked as a Teacher and Lecturer for 15 years in South Africa.

I was awarded the Best Mathematics Teacher in the Education District where I was teaching in South Africa consecutively for 3 years by the Minister of Eastern Cape Province. I have also secured certificates for achieving a 100% pass rate in math and physical science in various years where I worked as a Lecturer in a Technical, Vocational Education and Training College. 

I like to give my best when I am with kids and would love to see them successful in various career options they choose. I am proud to say that most of my students in South Africa are successful in their own fields and we keep in touch through social networks. 

Specialized Subjects:                                                               

• Mathematics
• Physics
• Writing

Hobbies: 

• Playing Cricket, Badminton and Chess
• Long drives
• Cooking

Mr. John Wiest

Tutor

Get to know John:                                                 

I am an educator (M.Sc, B.Mus) with over 10 years of experience teaching mathematics at the post-secondary and secondary levels. My primary location has been at Ambrose University in Calgary, delivering courses in calculus, linear algebra, statistics, business mathematics, physics, and computing. I also have taught courses in the Academic Upgrading department at SAIT, as well as for the College Prep program at Columbia College. I have also tutored high school mathematics on my own and through occasional tutoring institutions.

While math is my specialization, I am also a fan of English Language Arts and of the sciences and would enjoy branching out into those areas as well. 

Ms. Heather Shepley

Teacher

I achieved a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Honours) from McMaster University with focus areas in Social/Cultural and Medical Anthropology. I love teaching and I hope to share my love of learning and life balance with my students.

Specialized Subjects:                                                                               Language Arts, Mathematics. Biology, SAT prep

Ms.Mireille Côté

Teacher

Specialized subjects: Mathematics, French, English

Hobbies: photography, hiking, skiing, reading

Mr. Jonathon Himann

Tutor

Jonathon has spent most of his career teaching after getting an education in English Lit and Education. Over the past 20 years, he has taught on five continents and plans to teach on the remaining 2 before he finishes. He has focused on communications, editing, writing and critical thinking as his teaching focus, along with self-care. He has won more than one excellence in teaching award and has spent a few years writing professionally. He is dedicated to helping students master the skills they need to excel in school and in life. 

English language arts, history, editing, writing, test preparation

Ms. Chaymaa Rahmoun

Tutor

Je suis d'origine Marocaine ou j'ai grandit et étudié, donc le français est ma deuxième langue et l'anglais est ma troisième, j'ai aussi un bachelor en mathématiques et un master en ingénierie industrielle. Sur ce, j'enseigne le français et les mathématiques.

Durant toute ma période d'études j'ai aimé expliquer à mes amis et collègues les cours que je maîtrise. En plus j'aime beaucoup les enfants, j'aime interagir avec eux, comprendre comment ils réfléchissent, comment je peux faire partie de leurs petits mondes, et les aider à surmonter les difficultés liées à leurs études.

Mes loisirs:
Crocheter est le premier loisir qui me rend zen et relaxée, j'aime créer des petits nounours pour enfants et je m'amuse en créant des vêtements pour les nouveaux nés entre autres. En plus, j'adore cuisiner, je trouve du plaisir à essayer des nouveaux plats de différentes cultures et des nouveaux goûts. En fin, le voyage pour moi est aussi un vrai remède pour le stresse et la monotonie, je trouve du plaisir à voyager et à découvrir de nouvelles cultures et cuisine.

Ms. Jenna Ashby

Teacher

I am a 3rd year student at the University of Calgary, where I am working towards a Bachelor of Science in Biological Anthropology.  I have lived in Calgary all my life, but have been lucky enough to travel to other places like Australia, Germany and England. I am passionate about helping other students succeed and achieve their academic goals. I enjoy learning and hope I can help other students feel the same way.

Ms. Dhvani Dhawal Shah

Tutor

I  am an HR professional by qualification and a teacher by heart. I love to learn more about different cultures and the diversity of the world at large. I pursued my MBA specializing in Human Resources. I have been working in India and Dubai for the past 6 years. My passion is teaching, curious and inquisitive kids. I specialize in Math, English, and Communication skills. I believe in being a teacher where I would inspire hope in every child, ignite their imagination and instill a love for learning.  
Besides work, my hobbies are: 

• I love listening to music 
• I love travelling, so far I have been to 14 countries and wish to explore more
• I am passionate about cooking and I keep experimenting with different cuisines
• I am a big fan of solving puzzles, especially Sudoku

Ms. Khushi Bhatt

Tutor

Hi! I'm Khushi and I'm a tutor here at Oxford Learning Calgary West. Learning, inspiring and contributing in whatever I do are three things that I always aim at inculcating in my life, and I seemed to have found all three when I started tutoring kids. I have always believed in doing work that has purpose and meaning to it, and I found solace in teaching children, which I began doing a few years ago. Since then, every day has been a learning experience and there is nothing more valuable than watching kids realize their abilities and utilize the potential that they already have.

I believe that every child brings something new to the table and it is our responsibility as teachers to be able to encourage and nurture and foster their talents. 

I am an IT professional, and I specialize in teaching English, math, physics, chemistry and programming all the way up to Grade 12.

Teaching kids brings me immense joy. I have learnt to make the hope in their eyes my vision, the voice of their belief my music, and the laughter on their faces my happiness.

Mr. Ryan Pothunnah

Teacher

About me:

I am a third-year mechanical engineering student at the University of Calgary, although I was born and raised in Mauritius, a tiny island off the East coast of Africa. Math and sciences (especially physics) are what I am currently studying so I would like to believe I’m very comfortable with these. Also, since I was taught and exposed to French from an early age, I am fluent in both spoken and written French and I have the DALF C1 certification to back up my claim. Fun fact: I was the male lead actor in a French play called “Le Mariage de Figaro” by the renowned playwright Molière. 

I enjoy teaching and seeing the confidence of students grow in front of my very eyes. Since I am a student myself, I believe that getting validation is an important part of gaining confidence so I try to celebrate every little achievement that the student makes while also being firm when needed.

Hobbies and interests: 

I love dogs (and cats) and animals in general. My dog is unfortunately back home in Mauritius but I see her every now and then when I video call my parents. I love listening to music, playing my ukulele and singing in my free time. Ask me about my favourite music, movies or video games at any time!