Michael is a lifelong Philadelphian who’s always felt at home in the city’s perfect mix of history, innovation, and grit. When it came time for college, staying local felt like the obvious choice—so he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Computer Science with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence. As generative AI began reshaping the world in real time, his studies felt both timely and urgent.

While at Penn, Michael spent four semesters as a Calculus tutor at the university’s Weingarten Center. It didn’t take long for him to fall in love with the work. He looked forward to late-night sessions before quizzes and exams, and found deep satisfaction in helping students dismantle the mental walls they’d built around math. He firmly believes that there’s no such thing as “not being a math person”—only people who haven’t yet heard it explained the right way.

In addition to tutoring with Grey Eyed Owl, Michael works as a software engineer, developing tools and web applications that solve real-world problems. That hands-on experience gives him a practical lens in the classroom, where he frames math not as abstract drudgery, but as a series of puzzles with clean, logical solutions.

Outside of work, Michael is a hobbyist game developer, basketball player, and dedicated (if occasionally exasperated) Philadelphia sports fan. Whether he’s writing code, catching a concert, or helping a student master integrals, he brings the same belief: with the right perspective, any challenge can become a puzzle worth solving.