About Us
Our Story
Founded in the basement of Sumaer's home, the Emerson Study Group was named after the street where it all began. ESG started with a small group of 6 students whom Sumaer tutored in his free time when he wasn't either studying, talking with friends, or playing video games. However, Sumaer noticed the lack of motivation and reluctance to explore further learning in the kids of our generation. He decided to take action and gather some excited learners and began to teach. Emerson Study Group has the goal of providing free and quality tutoring in order to inspire a generation of proactive and passionate learners.
Meet the Team
Sumaer Gupta - Co-founder & Instructor
Sumaer Gupta is a Junior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). At a young age, Sumaer decided to assist his brother in the creation of ESG by becoming an instructor. He helped to teach other students advanced topics in mathematics such as pre-algebra, Algebra I, and Algebra II. After skipping his freshman year to attend IMSA, he took BC Calculus 1. He loves to teach others and improve their math skills. Along with this, Sumaer has been the team leader for math competitions such as Latin Math, the Mathcounts Chapter Competition, and even led his school as the team captain for the State Mathcounts Competition. While his love for math is never-ending, he also enjoys various activities within his school. At IMSA, he is Student Council Junior Class Representative, The Acronym Section Editor of Opinions and World News, Events team board of TALENT, and a speaker coach for TedxYouth@IMSA. Furthermore, he has participated in different styles of debate, including Policy and Congressional, for over four years. Furthermore, with the help of his roommate, he became the COO of Weave, an organization using mesh networks to transmit information by turning devices into separate relays. Overall, he enjoys learning about new STEM topics and loves to share his passion with others.
Contact:
Email - sumaergpt123@gmail.com
Shikhar Gupta - Co-Founder
Shikhar is a Junior at the University of Pennsylvania studying biochemistry and biophysics in the Vagelos MLS Program. For high school, he attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), the #1 ranked high school in Illinois at the time. He was accepted to IMSA as a sophomore, skipping 9th grade. Before IMSA, he attended Quest Academy where he held the titles of a service and character leader. He graduated top of his class and is also the recipient of the American Legion School Award. From a young age, Shikhar has always been a fan of math and science. His love for service was discovered in second grade when he raised almost $400 for the homeless and donated it to JOURNEYS - The Road Home. He has always strived towards opportunities to serve his community and has proudly founded ESG with his character principles in mind. At IMSA, he was the Senior Class Representative on Student Council, Captain of the Congressional Debate Team, a board member of the Student Committee for IMSA Advancement, the President of the Red Cross Club, an IMSA Student Ambassador, a member of the IMSA Medical Society/HOSA, a competitor in IMSA PowerPitch, a Residential Student Leader (RSL), a section leader in Chamber Choir, and a Boys Varsity Tennis player.
Contact:
Email - sahebgupta8@gmail.com
Aditya Tiwari - Co-President & Instructor
Aditya Tiwari is a Junior at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) passionate about teaching and helping students see beyond the school curriculum to explore their curiosities. He’s interested in mathematics for computer science and modeling brains and behavior to answer questions about philosophy and sociology. His current math education takes him through the exploration of post-calculus disciplines, most recently Group Theory and Abstract Algebra for an internship about Post-Quantum Cryptography at Google. In a drive to implement math, Aditya has delved far into computing and uses his skill with many programming languages to develop full-stack websites, apps, and scripts for automation, along with finer arts like games and other interactive experiences. More recently, along with his roommate and fellow ESG tutor Sumaer Gupta, he’s heading an investigation into computer networking through Weave, as the CEO and Technical Lead. However, math and computers aren’t his only passions, since a passion for social justice and “arguing” (conversations) drove explorations into Debate, Model UN, and Mock Trial. He’s currently co-president of Mock Trial and Code Society clubs at IMSA and is the Event head for IMSA’s Student Committee for IMSA’s Advancement. However, school isn’t his only focus, and he always (greatly) appreciates conversations about music, poetry, philosophy, and art. That passion was the driving factor behind his TEDx talk about passion and flow in particularly gifted students, based on his experiences dealing with gifted burnout. The conversations he’s the happiest for are about questions that neither party knows the answer to and is excited to hear about all disciplines. In short, he’s passionate about what you’re passionate about and is open to responding to any emails he gets!
Contact:
Email: atiwari@imsa.edu
Ethan Hunt - Instructor
Ethan Hunt is a Junior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). Hailing from downstate Illinois, Ethan was always ahead of his peers and was placed into accelerated math courses. After his 8th grade year, Ethan was accepted into IMSA, during which he fell in love with math as it was finally taught in a more challenging and interactive manner where he thrived in. To continue his learning, Ethan enrolled in college math courses during the summer following his sophomore year. Outside of Math, Ethan also has a great passion for science, specifically chemistry, which he plans to study in college. For teaching experience, Ethan spent 9 years in a martial arts program, the majority of which he spent in the leadership program. This leadership program had Ethan working with students from the ages of four all the way up to early teenagers. During class, Ethan would have to maintain behavior amongst the students while also teaching material and correcting technique in a constructive manner. As for hobbies, Ethan enjoys going to the gym, hanging out with friends, and listening to classical rock and metal. Ethan looks forward to getting to know your students, and teaching them math while he's at it.
Contact:
Email - Ethanh26160@gmail.com
Atmaj Shelar - Instructor
Atmaj Shelar is a junior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. He has always had a passion for mathematics, especially loving the fact that there are multiple unique ways to solve the same problem. He is currently enrolled in IMSA’s calculus sequence after going through Algebra II and Pre-calculus. After tutoring his brother for a summer, Atmaj discovered his passion for teaching, and hopes to fulfill it through this program. He is also a part of various clubs and organizations throughout his school, including being research chair for congressional debate, a general member of the Titan Astronomical Club, Society of Engineers, and a writer for HADRON, a monthly science journal. He participated in the NASA Techrise student challenge last year and was able to design a payload that flew on an actual NASA mission up to 70,000 feet into the atmosphere. Atmaj has always felt that the best way to learn something is actually to teach it to someone else. He wants to be the teacher that can spark the next generation’s passion for STEM.
Contact:
Email: ashelar@imsa.edu
Sonya Patel - Instructor
Sonya Patel is a Junior at IMSA. In her first year at IMSA, Sonya completed Pre-calculus and tutored through an organization under the name of Infinity Tutoring. She has always been interested in tutoring, originally teaching her friends math in 5th grade helping them through various different programs. Throughout her life, she has amassed many other interests outside of tutoring; whether it is in-school clubs like Model UN and IMSA Student Productions, or activities outside of school like rollerskating and writing. Sonya Patel is passionate to teach students and help them on their journey of learning.
Contact:
Email - spatel5@imsa.edu
Elizabeth Thompson - Instructor
A junior at IMSA, Elizabeth has a strong foundation in math, having completed up to Algebra 2 before attending, and her passion for physics and engineering continues to drive her academic pursuits. She has been actively involved in tutoring, including working alongside the IMSA Promise program. Elizabeth is also an enthusiastic participant in clubs like Spectrum and The Katwalk. Outside of academics, she enjoys drawing, painting, sewing, and anything artistic, including dying her hair a new color rather often. With a background in musical theater and as a choir student, she also considers herself a creative spirit. Now, as a Residential Student Leader in her residential hall at IMSA, she takes pride in helping others and being a friendly face for anyone in need. When she's not at school, she loves to travel, with the Rocky Mountains in Colorado being her favorite destination. Always up for a conversation, she looks forward to getting to know her students and helping pursue their love for knowledge
Contact:
Advayth Pashupati - Instructor
Advayth Pashupati is a senior at the Illinois Math and Science Academy. He has loved math and the sciences ever since his mother introduced them to him, and he often informally tutored his friends in elementary and middle school. He skipped his freshman year to attend IMSA, and since then, he has finished both Precalculus and BC Calculus, along with the equivalent of an AP Chemistry course and several other advanced math, physics, and computer sciences. He has been an IMSA Peer Tutor and a Math Tutor since his junior year, along with running study sessions for the USACO as the IMSAlympians President and CS Coordinator. He loves seeing the look on a person’s face when they figure out an especially different topic, and believes that teaching someone strengthens his own knowledge in the subject. Outside of the STEM fields, he enjoys other activities as well. He’s the senior captain of the IMSA Quiz Bowl team, a member of Code Society, and a member of the IMSA Society of Musical Performers. Some of his hobbies include working on several of his coding projects and reading manga/manhwa/webnovels.
Contact:
Email - Apashupati1@imsa.edu