Perfectionism meets empathy
The Valdo Academics team is made up of expert tutors and teachers, who work with precision to help students excel, before, during and after tutoring sessions.
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We select our administrative team from among our collaborators, identifying among them those who shine with empathy, a sense of entrepreneurship and reliability.
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We are here for our students, their parents and our mentors to make sure the learning process is smooth, effective and inspiring.
Roberto Valdo Cortese
Director and founder
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Roberto is an Italian entrepreneur in London, an educational consultant and an award-winning theater director and producer.
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He received his training as an economist at University College London (UCL), where he graduated with honors, earning a scholarship as the best student in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (which has over 6,000 students).
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Before studying at UCL, he achieved the IB Diploma with 44/45 as the best student at his school, the United World College of the Adriatic. He attended UWC with a scholarship of 44,000 euros, which he received after a regional and national selection. His score placed him in the top 0.3% of IB graduates worldwide during his graduation year.
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Roberto began working as a tutor and mentor in 2013, accumulating over 7,000 hours of teaching experience.
Emma Russo
Head of Tutoring
Emma is a professional tutor, operations consultant, dancer and writer. His role is to coordinate the strategic and pedagogical plan of Valdo Academics.
Emma earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver (Canada) through the prestigious "International Leader of Tomorrow Award" scholarship ($44,000 per year).
Before studying at UBC, Emma achieved 42/45 points in her IB Diploma at the United World College of the Adriatic, participating through a full scholarship which was awarded following a national selection.
Emma has extensive teaching experience, which she has developed both as a professional tutor and teaching assistant for introductory and advanced sociology courses at UBC. In 2018, the UBC Sociology Department awarded Emma the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Award for her teaching philosophy and the outstanding academic performance of her students.
Olivia Munk
SAT Course Leader
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Olivia grew up in Queens, New York, and attended Harvard University in 2012. She graduated magna cum laude in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature and a minor in Mind/Brain Behavior. After graduating, he continued his English studies at St. Catherine's College, Oxford.
At Harvard she was a renowned theater director and wrote for the magazineThe Crimson: Fifteen Minutes, where he served as Editor-at-Large.
She received a prestigious British entrepreneur visa, which allowed her to set up her own theater company,Part of the Main, which focuses on empowering and improving the presence of women in theater and creative industries.
Olivia specializes in assisting students with SAT and ACT preparations, both math and English exams, and SAT Subject Tests.
Olivia excels at making content accessible, especially for students who may feel intimidated by more difficult math concepts like algebra, or more complex grammatical concepts than American English.
Mathias Esmann
Bocconi Test Course Leader
Mathias teaches Economics, History, and French at the introductory level, and is also a mentor to students applying to American universities and seeking management consultancy.
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Mathias graduated from Red Cross Nordic - United World College (IB score 43/45), holds an honors degree in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University and the University of Copenhagen / Copenhagen Business School (Joint M.Sc in International Law, Economics and Management, top-3 GPA). He completed an exchange semester at Sciences-Po Paris and worked in French in Tunis, Tunisia.
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Mathias worked as a management consultant for Bain & Company and Voluntas Advisory, advising large corporations, private equity investors, United Nations organizations and NGOs. Furthermore, he is the co-founder of the NGO Global Minimum which seeks to catalyze a culture of innovation through hands-on learning experiences, creative problem solving and leadership skills among youth through its innovation competitions and innovation workshops in Sierra Leone and Kenya.
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His teaching style is very structured: Mathias breaks down concepts into easily understandable components and connects academic concepts to their real-world implications.
The average UCAS offer rate for Valdo Academics students in the last admission season
Clara Schade-Poulsen
Recruiter
Clara is a private IB tutor who teaches Global Politics, Philosophy, Biology and French. He is currently pursuing a degree in Political Science and Social Anthropology at SOAS University of London and is on track to achieve top marks.
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As a tutor, Clara has completed several hundred hours of tutoring with Valdo Academics, helping students in Global Politics, ToK and English. He also helped design the Time Management Program, which aims to help students gain more confidence in their time management skills.
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Prior to her university studies, Clara obtained a scholarship of €35,000 to finish her higher education at Mahindra UWC of India. He obtained the International Baccalaureate with a final score of 42/45.
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When she's not teaching or studying, Clara is often busy deepening her understanding of world politics. He recently interned at the legal research and advocacy department of the oldest human rights organization in Palestine, Al-Haq. He acted in various professional plays at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen. He speaks fluent Danish, Italian, English and French.
Neila Zannier
Time Management Coach
Neila (they/them) is one of the tutors for the Time Management program in both English and Italian.
At the moment, Neila writes at the research center Geopolitica.info. They serve on the editorial board and pursues her research interests in migration and gender issues, particularly in the sub-Saharan region. To prepare for their master's degree, they are currently taking courses in Arabic and sociology at SOAS University in London. Their passion for human rights earned their participation in the Harvard National Model of United Nations (USA) and in a course on international human rights taught by an independent Palestinian NGO.
They graduated with honors in Philosophy, International and Economic Studies from Ca' Foscari University. Before completing his graduation, they obtained his IB Diploma from Mahindra United World College of India.
Their academic and research experience allows them to be a perfect tutor for the Time Management program. During their university career, they attended three universities, two of which simultaneously, and this allowed them to complete their studies in just two academic years.
The average age of our tutors is 24.
At once, teachers, friends and mentors
Scroll through the presentation to meet some of our tutors
Michele
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Michele teaches Biology and Chemistry, and prepares students for admission to the best medical schools
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He graduated from UCL with first class honors in Medical Sciences and Neuroscience with a research project supervised by the 2014 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine and Physiology, Dr. J. O'Keefe.
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He has just completed his final year at UCL Medical School, achieving Distinction (Honours) in both clinical years. He currently works as a junior doctor in Italy.
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Before studying at UCL, Michele graduated with 44/45 IB points from the United World College of the Adriatic (placing in the top 0.3% worldwide); studied at UWCAD with a full scholarship worth €40,000 after a national selection.
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He has extensive tutoring experience, having participated in teaching activities for undergraduate and IB students over the course of six years.
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In addition to being a doctor and tutor, he is a conservatory-trained multi-instrumentalist musician specializing in piano.
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His scientific and clinical background, along with his passion for music, allows him to draw on diverse skills to offer a unique and engaging teaching style.
