Tutorfair profiles: Meet Maya
A Tutorfair Foundation maths tutor since January 2025 and undergraduate at Oxford University, Maya tells us about her motivations for tutoring and her experience working with us.
Hi Maya, please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a third-year maths undergraduate at Oxford University and have tutored maths and further maths for over six years. I have also held teaching and pastoral roles at academic summer schools. After graduation I hope to pursue a career in mathematics teaching and education.
Outside of academics, I enjoy reading, sewing and have a love for the outdoors – sometimes I’ve “edited” summer school programmes to include walks to some particularly lovely spots.
How did you first find out about Tutorfair? How did you initially get involved?
A fellow tutor saw a recruitment post for the Axiom Maths Circles and encouraged me to apply. I jumped at the chance and since January 2025 I have enjoyed guiding secondary-aged mathematicians on “mathematical adventures” during our maths circles.
What about Tutorfair and its mission most resonates with you?
As a state-educated student who has never had tuition, I have felt first-hand how vital, yet inaccessible, extra support can be; this became particularly clear to me after starting university when I realised most of my peers have had regular tuition at some point during their education.
Tutorfair was an exciting discovery as it gave me the opportunity to broaden the reach of my teaching and so help to increase access to tutoring on a larger scale, and work alongside other tutors with the same mission.
I love bringing enthusiastic and creative mathematicians together to develop problem-solving and collaboration skills over interesting and challenging problems during our maths circles. The students I meet through Tutorfair might not otherwise have had this chance, and seeing their confidence and resilience grow reminds me just how powerful accessing these opportunities can be.
What has been your highlight since you started working with Tutorfair? What are you most proud of?
A highlight has been joining breakout rooms and hearing excited voices of students approaching a solution or having unlocked a new idea and trying to articulate it to their peers, after having been stuck for quite a while. Their explanations have become clearer and more concise, and they have begun to understand what it means to generalise arguments and how to structure a proof.
They have started to move away from jumping straight to the answer, instead enjoying the process of not knowing, slowly piecing ideas together and asking follow-up questions. It’s especially exciting when a student suggests an approach I hadn’t considered, and we work through the logic together as a circle.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get involved in tutoring/make a difference to young people who need it the most?
Absolutely go for it. Learning and teaching are different skills, yet they’re both a type of problem solving. Be patient with students but also with yourself. When starting out, try formulating different explanations before the session. Even explaining your own work to yourself can help you practice this skill.
Don’t forget, even getting stuck on a problem as a tutor is a valuable learning experience for students. By articulating your own problem-solving process, you can help the students develop theirs and bust the myth of “teachers know everything about everything”.
Thanks so much for sharing your story, Rebecca!
If you’ve been inspired by Rebecca’s story and you’re interested in helping young people to change their lives, you can volunteer with Tutorfair here!