Meet our Instructors
Risa Fajkowski
Risa earned her B.A. in Sociology from Johns Hopkins University as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and her M.Ed. in Language and Literacy from Harvard University. Risa has worked with students on their grammar and writing skills for the past 17 years as a tutor for standardized tests. Risa is an avid reader and runner with a strong interest in special education and is experienced in teaching students with varied learning styles. Recently, she has been exploring the dynamic between student resiliency and its influence on academic success. Risa is an Associate Director of Advantage Testing of Boston.
Alexandra Carter
Alexandra teaches Expository Writing in Tufts’s First Year Writing Program. She tutors students on the Medford campus as well as coordinates the writing tutoring program at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Beyond her work at Tufts, Alexandra has directed Putney Student Travel’s pre-college programs in London, Florence, and Amherst, Massachusetts. Before moving back home to Boston for graduate school, Alexandra earned her Bachelor’s degree in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from New York University. When she’s not reading, writing, or working with students, you can find her working diligently on her newfound needlepointing hobby.
Jacob Shulman
Jacob graduated with an A.B., summa cum laude, from Princeton University, where he also earned the Isidore and Helen Sacks Memorial Prize. Jacob went on to complete an M.M. in Music Composition from the New England Conservatory. An avid musician, he plays saxophone, clarinet, Armenian duduk, and piano, and he has toured the USA, Japan, Armenia, and Italy as a jazz musician. Jacob programs music for Nintendo GameBoy and recently premiered his first opera, Role Playing Game. He also loves to cook.