Twice a year, we issue a survey to the students and parents we serve at libraries with our Academics free tutoring program. This time around, student responses to the question “What is your favorite thing about coming to tutoring?” at Rainbow Library had a common theme.
“Miss Angela, my favorite tutor, is especially a good tutor and me, along with many others, love her ways and she is incredibly helpful.”
“Coming to see Miss Angela because she always helps me. Last year she brought my grades up from D's to A's, B's, and C's.”
“Coming in to see Miss Angela because she helps me understand what I didn't [before].”
With those only being a handful of shining reviews for Ms. Angela Kabiling, we not only took notice but decided to sit down with her and ask her a few questions. Her charisma and obvious love for what she does made it clear why she is so beloved by students.
Angela was born in Olongapo City, Philippines as the 2nd of her parents’ 3 daughters, but has been in Las Vegas for 17 years now. She has obtained two Bachelor’s in Accounting and Economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and has been working for Andson for 3 years and 7 months.
Angela has no children of her own, but is very close to her students at Rainbow Library (“Shout out to JAAAMK!”). She is “passionate about motivating kids to improve on their math knowledge and challenge them intellectually. Mentorship is important for the youth, and [she] plans to be a better role model for them. We should love nature, each other, and most importantly, ourselves.”
Part of what makes Angela such an effective tutor is her ability to relate to students, which she does through references to memes and social media. “[She loves] making connections to social media with mathematical problems. It makes homework more relevant and [creates] entertaining situations. Seeing the light bulb above their heads and watching their gears work makes [her] proud that they’re utilizing their critical thinking skills.” But more important to Angela is the trust the children have in both her and themselves.
“I want my students to trust in not only me, but in themselves as well. I love to build their confidence in themselves. This applies in their schoolwork and in their choices they make in their life. Building that trust with my kids also strengthens our relationship, and I believe that is what makes a great tutor.”
When she’s not tutoring for Andson or working in our Piggy Banks, she enjoys gardening, playing video games, improving her culinary skills, spending time with her friends, and traveling whenever she can. Lately, she has been planning road trips to all of the country’s National Parks. Most recently, she visited Cathedral Rock and Great Basin National Park.
She also has an impressive menagerie of pets, with 7 chickens (Beignet, Brioche, Baguette, Biscotti, Tiramisu, Sesame, and Pistachio), 2 rats (Ratnor and Ribbon) and a salamander (Lucio).
Finally, if there is one piece of advice Angela wants to leave her students with, it is: “Let’s get this bread, so believe in yourself more often!”