Say Hello To Joy Becker

We’ve loved introducing you to our amazing Leadership Team. These women have taken Connections from a tutoring side gig to a successful company impacting families all around Cincinnati! If you missed getting to know Amanda, Anna, or Lindsay, be sure to go back and check out their posts.

Today we are saying hello to Joy Becker, one of the Mentoring Coordinators at Connections.

Joy grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. She earned a degree in Elementary Education from Taylor University and a Masters in Education from Indiana Wesleyan University. Joy taught first grade for seven years, and then became a Literacy Coach working with teachers in K-6 schools. In 2016, Joy stepped out of her full-time roll as a Literacy Coach to stay at home with her three young children, but has been able to stay involved in education as a trainer and consultant in local schools.

When Joy is not interviewing potential tutors for Connections, she can be found reading, writing, cooking up a new recipe, or teaching Zumba.

How long have you been working for Connections?

I have been with Connections for over 3 years.

What's your favorite thing about Connections?

I love seeing tutors make real connections with their students that go above and beyond academics. I also adore the Leadership Team! They’re top notch women!

What is the best book you've read in the last year?

There is no way I can only pick 1. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, and anything by Rainbow Rowell

Oh, and how about one for kids, too? My kids and I are loving the Zoey and Sassafras series right now!

How would you spend a free Saturday afternoon?

If I’m free as in no-children-quiet-house-all-alone free, I would spend my afternoon on the couch with an iced coffee and a good book. And if I’m feeling creative, I would do some writing. And then take a nap.

If I’m free and with my family, we would get outside and explore Cincinnati. Maybe walk some trails or try a new park, and we would definitely find delicious food. Our go-to Saturday spot is Holtman’s Donuts and Washington Park in Over the Rhine. Eating a maple-bacon donut while watching my kids splash in the fountains will never get old.

You just won an all expenses paid vacation! Where are you going?

Australia!

And then swing through Italy on the way home.

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Say Hello To Lindsay Persons

We are excited to continue introducing the women who make up the Leadership Team at Connections Academics. So far, we’ve met Amanda Vaughn and Anna Tewell, and this week we are saying hello to Lindsay Persons, the Business Operations Manager at Connections.

Lindsay grew up in Findlay, Ohio, and then earned her degree in Early Childhood Education from Miami University. After graduating, Lindsay moved to Atlanta and held a few different positions as a second grade teacher, a consultant and trainer, and the director of a preschool. Last summer, Lindsay and her family moved from Atlanta to Cincinnati, and Lindsay is now staying at home with her one-year-old son. We were thrilled to have Lindsay join the Connections Leadership Team last fall.

What is your favorite thing about Connections?

The personal relationships!

What is the best book you've read in the last year?

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

How would you spend a free Saturday afternoon?

I would be exploring Cincy with my babe and hubby!

You just won an all expenses paid vacation! Where are you going?

Australia!

Thanks, Lindsay! Your creativity, diligent note taking, and personal touches have helped the Leadership Team become our very best!

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Say Hello to Anna Tewell

Last week in our Meet the Leadership Team series, we met Amanda Vaughn. This week we are excited to get to know Cincinnati school teacher and Connections Academics Mentoring Coordinator, Anna Tewell!

Anna was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but she grew up all over the place—Connecticut, Ohio, North Carolina and Texas. She landed back in Ohio and attended Miami University to earn her degree in Speech Pathology. Anna started her education career with Teach For America in Indianapolis. She spent 2 1/2 years there, and then moved to Cincinnati in the summer of 2016 to work in Cincinnati Public Schools as an Intervention Specialist.

She is currently working at Walnut Hills High School in a grant-run program that provides at-risk middle school students with academic and social-emotional services and intervention. 

How long have you been working for Connections?

I have been working for Connections for just over a year. 

What's your favorite thing about Connections?

I love the strong group of women that lead Connections and Amanda's story of starting Connections and building it to what it is today!

What is the best book you've read in the last year?

We Came Here To Forget by Andrea Dunlop

How would you spend a free Saturday afternoon?

My favorite thing to do on Saturday afternoons is wrap up in a blanket on the couch and read or head out to try new restaurants or fun spots downtown with my husband and friends! 

You just won an all expenses paid vacation! Where are you going?

I would 100% hop on a plane to New Zealand and Australia.

Anna, thank you for all you do for Connections Academics.

We are lucky to have you!

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Say Hello to Amanda Vaughn

We are kicking off our Meet The Leadership Team series with our fearless leader, owner and founder of Connections Academics, Amanda Vaughn.

Amanda grew up in Daleville, Indiana. Think cornfields. Lots and lots of cornfields. She earned her degree in Elementary Education at Ball State, and years later went on to earn her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Cincinnati.

Amanda began her career in education as a Title I reading teacher in Lafayette, Indiana. A move out east landed her a new job teaching middle school ESL and a 3rd/4th grade looping class in Burlington, Vermont. Fortunately for us, she eventually returned to the Midwest and taught 4th grade at Cincinnati Country Day School.

In 2009 Amanda Vaughn stepped out of the classroom to devote more time to what she calls her favorite job—being a mom to Grayson and Landon. (Connections is a close second, of course!) She began tutoring independently as a way to maximize her time as a mom while also fulfilling her passion for teaching. As word spread and additional requests for tutoring came rolling in, Amanda realized the need to build a team and widen the support she offered.

In the summer of 2013, Amanda founded Connections with a team of top-notch tutors, providing academic support while prioritizing professionalism and communication.

And we are so glad she did!

What's your favorite thing about Connections? 

Where do I start? I absolutely love all the ways I get to connect with people. I love talking with parents to figure out how to best support students and families. I love collaborating with teachers. I love how Connections has grown into a team of incredible people. I love the opportunity to work with and build into a team of amazing individuals.

What is the best book you've read in the last year?

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng and Amos and Boris by William Steig, which is a children’s book, but adults will love it too!

How would you spend a free Saturday afternoon?

Hiking or exploring with my husband and two boys.

You just won an all expenses paid vacation! Where are you going?

Australia and New Zealand!

Thank you, Amanda for all you do!

Cincinnati is lucky to have you!

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Meet The Leadership Team

Over the past year, we have introduced you to many of our outstanding tutors. We love highlighting our tutors and singing their praises because it is their hard work and commitment to students that makes Connections Academics such a success. They are on the front lines each week as they creatively work to make learning exciting and applicable to our students. But over the next month, we will take a pause from meeting tutors and will introduce you to a new group of Connections employees: The Leadership Team.

This group of women work together, mostly behind the scenes, brainstorming the big ideas and finalizing the small details that make Connections Academics a wonderful place for our families, students, and tutors. Each of these women bring educational expertise as well as business knowledge, creativity, and unique skills that make Connections Academics one-of-a-kind!

Meet Joy, Katie, Amanda, Lindsay, and Anna. (Left to right.) As former and current teachers, this group of educators understand the demands of today’s schools, but they are also passionate about discovering how each student learns best. Their top priority is to help your entire family thrive!

Check back here over the next month to find out who loves a cheesy Hallmark movie, whose perfect Saturday morning includes maple-bacon donuts from Holtman’s, and where 4 out of 5 of them are headed if they win an all-expenses-paid vacation!