Portrait of Abrianna Gill (Courtesy of Abrianna Gill)

In The Angler’s first staff spotlight, Abrianna Gill talks about her beginnings as a math tutor at the STEM Center, pursuit in mastering her teaching as a Math Fundamentals instructor, and passion for “Dungeons & Dragons.”

Tutoring Students at the STEM Center

After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a bachelors in math, Abrianna began searching for a job pertaining to her degree.

“When I first graduated, like every recent college graduate does, I’m like, ‘I gotta find a job.’ So, I moved back in with my parents. They were helping me get back on my feet. I was looking around for different things that I could do with a math degree. Thankfully, the biggest thing that you could do with a math degree, especially one as general as mine, is teaching. That’s always been a huge passion of mine. So, I was looking around for different tutoring places…but I saw that they [LSSC] were hiring an instructional support assistant…”

Abrianna explained that “instructional support assistant” is the technical phrase for a tutoring position, and LSSC was specifically looking for a math tutor. Besides her math degree, she believed her previous experience as a teaching assistant also helped secure her current job as a math tutor for the STEM Center.

“I think my biggest ‘leg up’ (advantage) to being able to get in, other than the fact that I have a degree in math, was that officially I’ve had a year and a half of TA (teaching assistant) experience. It was in computer science, but because I was the only TA in the whole gaggle of TAs that was doing math…I became the math tutor for the computer science courses. There are a few modules that go really in-depth into math: doing different summations, being able to analyze code, and using math to determine different outputs and the efficiency of the programs. That was kind of my main thing that I was able to help the students with…Even though I was a teaching assistant for computer science courses, I spent a lot of that time also tutoring the math portions of it. I think that was what really helped me kind of show that I was qualified to be able to tutor math here.

Abrianna shared that her experience as a tutor in the STEM Center has allowed her to reinforce her passion for teaching, and given her the opportunity to meet various different students and staff. She initially summarized her experience using two words: very fulfilling.

“I’ve spent a very long time really knowing that I like teaching, and that it brings me a lot of joy. I love being able to help people out, especially with something as daunting as math. So, being able to really put that into practice has been super fulfilling. It’s honestly made me more confident in the thought of, ‘I’m going to go back to school, get my Ph.D., and continue to pursue education.’ It’s really solidified that this is my main passion and purpose in my life…I’ve met so many interesting students…Everyone that I’ve crossed paths with has very individual needs, and everyone’s in a different place in their classes…”

Some of those different classes include the Math-General & Finite (MGF) courses, which Abrianna didn’t take. Therefore, she has taken the time to study and learn about said courses, in order to efficiently help students.

“Even classes I didn’t take, like the MGF course..there was a lot of studying that I started doing, to make sure that I would be able to actually help everybody that comes in for that course.”

For students who are nervous or afraid of reaching out to a tutor, Abrianna empathizes with those sentiments. She encourages students to try asking tutors for help, in order to discover which explanations or learning methods help students the most with understanding the material covered in their classes.

“I would first say, I completely understand, because not all tutors unfortunately are the same. I know a lot of people do come in with bad experiences with reaching out for help either from their instructors or with other tutors. So, I understand your nervousness around that. First of all, there is no shame in asking for help. I asked for help a lot when I was in school. I had to get over that anxiety because it [asking for help] is the best way to get through your course and really learn the material. If a tutor [is] not explaining it in a way that you’re understanding, or maybe they just have a bad attitude, that is not your fault. Just keep trying and keep asking for help. That is the best way to learn.”

Additionally, Abrianna further elaborated that the tutors at the STEM Center truly concentrate on helping students to the best of their ability.

“I do think learning in a more collaborative way is super beneficial, especially if you’re struggling to try doing it on your own…especially at the STEM Center, we really do focus on the student experience, students’ satisfaction, and making sure that they are heard [and] understood…we don’t want anyone to feel ashamed for needing some extra assistance…The center wouldn’t exist, if we weren’t here for the students…Service is definitely a big theme in our ideology and what we all talk about. We’re always having meetings about how we can better assist students…Sometimes, the way that I would explain something to somebody [is] not the way that their brain works. So, I gotta bring someone else [another tutor] over, and then they are able to explain it in a way that they [the students] completely understand…Our brains all work uniquely. We really try to give that tailored experience to everybody with that understanding.

Abrianna revealed that she enjoys whenever students return to the STEM Center or visit it for the first time, alongside taking the time to chat and learn more about them.

“I love when I see a student come back in, even if they’re just coming in to study…Sometimes, people will come in, they’ll be working for 2 hours, and end up not calling any of us over, or needing any kind of assistance. But the fact that they come back, that really tells me that we are doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing. I love when people come back. I love having chit-chats with students, and getting to know them personally. That’s like the ‘cherry-on-top’ for my job. And I love when other students, like students that I’ve had in my classes, come in and bring their friends in from other math classes. That’s super exciting. I love seeing the same faces come back in. I love seeing the new faces come in…all that is super exciting.”

Mastering the Art of Teaching as a Math Fundamentals Instructor

As an instructor for the Math Fundamentals course, Abrianna admits that although she has had experience teaching, administrative concepts such as structuring the course’s lectures have been “learning curves” for her. However, these experiences have strengthened her steadfast devotion to master the art of teaching.

“It’s still been affirming that this [teaching] is the path that I want to go on. It [teaching Math Fundamentals] is sort of like what I do here [at the STEM Center], but on a bigger scale…Each student has a unique way that they learn. So, I try to structure my lectures with multiple ways to solve a problem to give the tools to the entire group, [while] being able to get to know each individual student both education-wise, but also as individual people…As the instructor of Math Fundamentals, those fundamentals, I take them very, very seriously. And I know that I kind of am there on their [students’] first stepping stone into whatever math that they’re gonna need for their degree, so I take that very humbly. I’m just super excited to be there for all of them, and kind of walk with them through getting those foundational concepts down, so they can excel throughout the rest of their degree program and then into the world. I hope that I can still keep in touch with them as they go through their degree, and see what they do. Every single student that I have is so bright, they all have such great potential, and they all wanna do different things. So, it’s just super exciting to be there, at the very start of it, in terms of math.”

Abrianna recalled that when she was a student, she learned the most from the instructors that cared about her as a person. As an instructor herself, she attempts to demonstrate that same care with the students she teaches and tutors.

“Looking back on my time in school, the best and most influential instructors that I had were the ones that I could tell cared about me, on more of a personal level…one of the things that I love about Lake-Sumter is that I’ve noticed you can really say that about most of the instructors. We all really care. We care about the students as people. We really care on that individual sort of level…I hope they [students] would agree. I try my very best to make sure that they know that I really care about them. I try to be understanding about personal circumstances and get to know them [by asking] ‘What did you do this week? How was work?’…And have those conversations with them about their families, their hobbies, what they want to do personally, but also in their career…If I know what they want to do in their career, I might be able to guide them somewhere that could be that next step; find another stepping stone for them, so they can reach their dreams.

While Abrianna has been tutoring at LSSC for more than a year, she has only been an instructor since the start of this year. She plans on refining her teaching skills and mastering the art of teaching through her experiences as an instructor and tutor for the well-being of her students.

“I have been here [at LSSC] for a little over a year. This is my third semester teaching a course. I did spring, I did one over summer, and then I have two this semester, so I absolutely plan on staying here, and continuing to hone the art of teaching. I do really think it is an art at the end of the day. So [I will] really hone that, [and] really be here for the students…”

Abrianna also anticipates to further pursue her education in the future, in order to improve upon her teaching.

“In a couple of years, I will be starting out a graduate program. Next year’s when applications start, and then a year after that is when I will go somewhere. I don’t know [where] yet. I have to see where I get in, where I wanna go…I really do want to continue to teach throughout my graduate program because I absolutely love it, and I also really want to have that time to continue learning about how to be a better teacher, and then eventually get into my ‘wise, old professor zone’…So [I will] just continue to teach, continue to prioritize the students, keep learning, keep studying, and then start applications…”

Abrianna mentioned that she is currently on her third gap year ever since she graduated from the University of Central Florida. She explained that taking a gap year can be understandable and beneficial to some students for various reasons.

“The biggest misconception [about taking a gap year] is that there’s like ‘one timeline’ that you have to follow. If you stray from it, you’re not going to be able to get back on…I don’t think that’s true at all. You do have to have a certain amount of discipline to be able to get back on there, but if that’s the path that you want to get back onto, if that is your dream, and you still want to get back onto it, I think taking a year or so off isn’t the one and done kind of thing that’s going to keep you off that path forever. There is always a way to get back. If that’s your dream and you want to pursue it, I believe that you can. Taking time off and breaking the mold that everyone else is telling you to follow is not going to completely destroy that plan at all. I honestly think it’s made mine better.”

“Dungeons & Dragons:” The Remedy for Abrianna’s Hibernation from Creativity

Besides her two cats Walter and Theodora and drinking coffee, Abrianna loves playing and writing for “Dungeons & Dragons.” More specifically, she explained how D&D helped “relit her creative juice.”

“The really fun thing about D&D is that it is collaborative. So, I think being surrounded by more creative people and that the creativity wasn’t all on me, I could come up with a spark of an idea. Then, someone else has a spark of an idea and then it [the creativity] kind of just all ‘snowballs’ (increases rapidly) from there…I think that was really the push that I needed to fall down that rabbit hole again of the creativity kind of flowing around because it was less pressure to come up with all of it on my own…The collaborative energy kind of really brought it [my creativity] back. I’m currently in a campaign with my two best friends, who are also my roomates. We’ve started outlining the campaign as a book that I one day hope to publish.”

Advice for Students

First of all, Abrianna advises students to work hard and pursue their dreams.

“Absolutely work hard. Pursue your dreams. If you don’t know what your dreams are, keep working, keep exploring. There’s definitely something out there for you.”

Then, Abrianna suggests students to not be hard on themselves.

“Don’t push yourself way too hard. Don’t be so incredibly hard on yourself because I did that, and I ended up needing to take a step back from school to kind of get back on that track. So, if you have fallen down that trap, there is a way to get back on it, but don’t be too hard on yourself. At the end of the day, you are a person and there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for everything.”

Finally, Abrianna recommends students to have fun while they are in school, alongside forming study groups.

“Definitely still have fun while you’re in school. Get to know people, get to know different ways that people think and do, and what different experiences are out there for you, especially if you really don’t know exactly what path you want to go on, because that’s the best way to find paths that you didn’t even know existed…work hard, but still make sure that you are kind to yourself.”

Abrianna tutors at the South Lake campus’ STEM Center. She will also be teaching Math Fundamentals for LSSC’s Spring and Summer 2026 semesters.

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