Staff

Juliet Davoren graduated from Edinburgh University with an M.A. Honours degree. She currently teaches in the Cupertino Union School District, where she gains insights on how SAT and ACT concepts correlate with the school curriculum.

At SpringLight, Juliet has successfully helped students with their college application essays, high school essays, and SAT/ACT preparation. Many of her students have been able to raise their test scores in a short period of time, and her students feel a heightened sense of responsibility and care when working with her. Students she has worked with for college applications have been admitted to Stanford, Yale, MIT, and more.

In her spare time, Juliet shares her Scottish cultural background with others by teaching Scottish Country Dance to adults and children in the Bay Area.

Words from Juliet’s students

Matthew Sloane graduated from Pomona College in 2015, majoring in computer science and minoring in philosophy. The summer after his first year, he received funding to work alongside a Pomona English professor to do research in Seoul. Throughout his time at Pomona, he was a teacher's assistant for a number of courses in the computer science department.

Mrs. Carolyn Milon has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Golden Gate University School of Law. After practicing law for nine years she turned her attention to raising her family. Carolyn has worked as an English tutor and college essay editor at SpringLight since 2014. Carolyn is dedicated to helping students excel in their language arts skills. Carolyn has successfully helped students with their college application essays, high school essays, and standard test preparation. Her students have been able to raise their test scores in a short period of time, and they feel a heightened sense of responsibility and care when working with her. Many of Carolyn's students have been admitted to their dream colleges after working with her on their application essays.

Padma Ramaswamy graduated from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, with a Bachelor’s degree in English, Psychology and Economics. She pursued post-graduate studies in Computer Software, moved to the U.S., and worked in the IT industry for over 12 years. During her time as manager of e-commerce systems at Sun Microsystems, she was the recipient of the Best Cross-Organizational Teamwork Award. She then turned her energies into raising her children, devoting many hours to tutoring, assisting and volunteering in Los Altos Schools.

Padma has now gone back to her first love: English. At SpringLight, she edits college application essays and helps students with their school writing assignments. She strongly believes that a student’s sense of self-worth is the most precious thing, that every student is uniquely talented, and she encourages them to articulate their true voices through their work.

Padma is also a registered yoga instructor and enjoys teaching yoga, running and hiking.

Ms. Cindy Jin graduated from Peking University with a major in microelectronics. She also has tutored high school math and physics (AP Calculus and AP Physics) in the Bay Area for more than 5 years. Her teaching is logical, clear. She has helped many students have improved their GPA and inspired them to love science. She has over 22 years of software engineering experience in the communications industry.

Instructor Kenton Freemuth (Pomona College, Class of 2015) is a professional freelance writer based in San Francisco. At Pomona, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and double-majored in English and Philosophy, subjects in which he completed a writing portfolio and senior thesis respectively. He writes professionally for several digital marketing agencies.

Mr. Felix Huang has taught math, computer science, and physics to high school students in learning centers in the Bay Area for over 10 years. He has helped many students pass the AMC 10, 12, and AIME. He also helped several students to advance on USACO Bronze, Silver, Gold to Platinum. In computer science students to advance on USACO Bronze, Silver, Gold to Platinum. He is passionate about helping students overcome their barriers and reach challenging goals. He helped students gain profound understanding on the math, computer science, and physics. He works as software engineer in multiple areas including Java, C++, Python programming, backend data, and optimization problems. As background, he received a M.S. in Math from U of Washington, M.S. in Computer Science from U of Arizona, and a B.S. in Math from National Taiwan University.

Anthony is an attorney with a passion for history. He holds a major in history and philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has been teaching APUSH and other history courses since 2013 at SpringLight Education. Anthony's students consistently achieve exceptional results, with all of them receiving A's in their high school history courses, and nearly all earning a 5 on their AP history exams.

Anthony's teaching style centers on developing his students' analytical writing skills, which is crucial for excelling in this rigorous course. He is committed to helping his students identify key historical information, analyze historical documents critically, and express their insights effectively through written communication. With Anthony's guidance, his students develop a deep understanding of American history and learn valuable skills that serve them well beyond the classroom.

Ms. Grace Heffner graduated Summa Cum Laude from Gordon College with a B.A. in History and Museum Studies/Public History. Her high school education was through an online cyber school, and she is very familiar with remote and online teaching/learning. She teaches history full time at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Boston while also managing online learning platforms for remote students. She is passionate about sharing an honest and accurate history of the United States, and this love for our country’s story began when she was young. Ms. Heffner is eager to help students succeed both inside and outside the classroom by helping them grow critical thinking, writing, and study skills.

Brandon Dauphinais has worked for over 15 years in technical communications, marketing, and direct advertising.  After getting his degree in English and Communications, Brandon spent several years working for various corporations and governmental entities both in the US and abroad.  Seeking a greater challenge, Brandon decided to form his own agency and consulting company.  Since then, Brandon has consulted with companies on 3 different continents and helped them "fix their broken marketing."  When not working to help his clients, Brandon enjoys reading old books, lifting heavy weights, and spending time with his beautiful wife and precocious children.