The Philosophy

I have been teaching senior Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science in Coquitlam, British Columbia since 2002, a combination that tends to prompt questions. My academic background includes a BSc in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia, as well as graduate level coursework in education at Simon Fraser University. Teaching all three disciplines at the senior level is uncommon, and I don't take that lightly.

I was born and raised in Seoul, Korea, where my parents instilled an early appreciation for rigorous education. That path brought me to St. Michaels University School in Victoria as an international student, and from there to UBC. Those years gave me more than credentials. They shaped how I approach learning itself. I value structure, precision, and the ability to think across boundaries rather than within them.

Over the past two decades, I have taught AP Chemistry, AP Physics, and Computer Programming, alongside Integrated Physics and Chemistry, a cohort program I designed from the ground up. Taken together, these courses reflect a conviction I keep returning to: strong students are not defined by what they remember, but by how well they connect ideas and act on them under pressure.

I have always been drawn to students whose ability is not fully reflected in their results. The pattern I see, again and again, is this: capable students who understand the material but cannot perform consistently. The gap is rarely knowledge. It is almost always structure. Helping students build reliable systems around their work has become the most meaningful part of what I do.

Academic performance, in my view, is not primarily a knowledge problem. It is a systems problem. My focus over the years has been translating that belief into practice: developing approaches that are clear, repeatable, and useful long after the course is over.

CEL Academy is an extension of that work. Here, I coach students on learning and performance, helping them build the kind of consistency that does not depend on cramming or luck, in an environment where information is everywhere but structure is rarely taught.