Teacher Profiles
Teaching is at the heart of what we do. In recognizing this, we go the extra mile to recruit the best and the brightest. Our students seem to agree. Get to know some of our teachers...
Ashish Gogia, Lead Instructor, Georgia
The Right Stuff.
Ashish graduated from the Georgia Institute
of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering, but then decided to
follow a different path and pursued a teaching career. He is passionate about
helping kids with all their subjects, but gets a real charge out of getting kids
hooked on math.
Why C2.
“The decision to become part of C2 was an easy
one. We’re on the path for a super expansion in the coming years, and it
is very exciting to be a part of something so dynamic.”
Smart Advice.
Ashish is fond of saying to his students, “It
must all start with you.”
Bill Macklin, Teacher, Georgia
The Right Stuff.
Studying philosophy, religion and music,
Bill earned a degree from Thomas Jefferson College. “TJC was the kind of
liberal arts school your parents warned you about: quirky and rebellious. I loved
it.” Bill thrived in his studies. “I read poetry with Allen Ginsberg,
discussed literature with Anais Nin, and had my writing critiqued by Galway Kinnell,
before he won his Pulitzer Prize.” Bill has also completed graduate studies
in creative writing.
What a Life!
After college, Bill worked a long, varied string
of jobs ranging from box factory lineman to substitute teacher to municipal contract
administrator. He didn’t find his calling until the day he walked into
a newspaper office in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Faster than you can say, ‘Hand
me the white out,’ I was working as a reporter.” He worked his way
up the ranks to entertainment critic, profiling famous entertainers, including
Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, and the members of the bands Metallica, Def Leppard,
and Guns N’ Roses. From there, Bill took a job with a major Philadelphia
newspaper, polishing his writing talents and adding to his extensive work experience.
Eventually, Bill returned to Michigan to teach graduate school, then traveled
to Atlanta, where he took a job as a line editor at the Journal-Constitution,
and finally to teaching as a tutor for C2 in semi-retirement. But don’t
ask him how old he is, which he says is “somewhere between young as spring
and old as dirt.”
Smart Advice.
Bill ends each class by telling his students
to keep their noses clean. “I use it to remind students of the incredible
fluidity of this young and vibrant thing we call the English language; how it
can be bent, almost at will, to imaginatively convey an almost endless array
of ideas and images. I also use it to remind my students to stay out of trouble.”
Jamie Marble, Educational Director, Washington
The Right Stuff.
Jamie is an honors graduate of Pacific Lutheran
University. She also spent time abroad studying art history in Italy and Aboriginal
and Canadian politics in Canada. Jamie’s educational approach is shaped
by her experiences as a diversity advocate for Pacific Lutheran University’s
Diversity Center.
Happiness Is...
“I am happiest when I’m teaching.” Regardless
of the subject matter, Jamie loves every aspect of teaching. What else makes
her happy? She is actively involved in animal rights and political activism.
Jamie believes, “Each student is unique, so my approach is a little different with each one. There is no real universal except that I expect every student to try to his or her best ability and go into every activity with confidence.”
Smart Advice.
She likes to pass on her favorite words to
live by, including a quote from Senator Barack Obama: “Focusing your life solely on
making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself.
Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself
that you realize your true potential.”
Joe Loughnane, Mid-Atlantic Regional Trainer, Virginia
The
Right Stuff.
Joe received a
bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering
from the University of Virginia, Class of 2005. Shortly after, he joined the
C2 team after discovering a gift for working with students and “helping
them to succeed where they were having trouble before.”
Personality Profile.
Tall, with a “pretty good, if
a little twisted, sense of humor”
Smart Advice.
“In high school, there are usually two
types of students who do well: The smart kids who don’t work hard, and
the kids who work their butts off. You want to be one of those hard workers because
they are the ones who do the best in the end.”
Tim Atkins, Southeast Regional Trainer, Georgia
The
Right Stuff.
Tim attended Georgia Tech with dreams
of becoming a weatherman, but when he found out the study of meteorology was
not his thing, he switched to public policy. This turned out to be a much better
fit, given his involvement in community service. Since joining C2 in 2005, Tim
was recognized as one of our teachers of the year. Despite the motley mix of
jobs he’s had over the years, “I’ve always come back to teaching.
I can’t imagine not teaching.”
Tall Tales.
Tim has a story for everything. Interestingly,
his older sister still calls him by his childhood nickname “Munchkin” even
though he now stands 6’5”.
Smart Advice.
Make sure you have many mentors in your
life. “Growing up, I didn’t have any mentors, especially any male
role models. I don’t want any of my students to have to go through this
difficult time in their lives without mentors.”
