Born in Chicago (that somber city) and raised in Baltimore and Berkeley (not quite so somber), Nico has always been a self-taught sort—at least as much as grades would allow. By the time he arrived at Yale, he had already completed an internship in private equity, which naturally led him to major in literature and moral philosophy. After a selective one-year program on the Western canon, Nico went on to sample courses in logic, anthropology, cultural history, real analysis, and anything else that might diminish his ROI. Outside the classroom, he wrote and performed comedy, a pursuit he continued after graduation—to the delight of audiences and mild despair of his parents.

At twenty-six, Nico has been teaching for nearly half his life. In high school, he coached middle schoolers through geometric proofs; in college, he was a faculty-nominated Writing Tutor and taught courses on how to philosophize; and since graduating, he has helped high school students jump tens of percentiles on standardized tests. He especially loves guiding students to see these exams not as arbitrary hurdles but as opportunities to refine their thinking and strengthen the muscle of clear reasoning.

When he’s not tutoring, Nico writes and directs films, produces and acts in plays with The Eno River Players, and reads The New Yorker. He retired from comedy in 2024.