Cole Smith

Tutor

Cole Smith is a mechanical engineer, musician, and lifelong builder who graduated cum laude from the University of Virginia with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. A graduate of Albemarle High School’s MESA academy, Cole scored a 1570 on the SAT and spent his school years a grade level ahead on the honors math track. His love of building took off in middle school, when a teacher brought him onto an engineering club that went on to win a national competition, and he hasn’t stopped making things since. This summer alone, he set up his own server, built a music mixer, looper, and live-effects box, and put together a DIY tennis ball machine (cheaper than a hitting partner, and it never cancels). For the past eight years, Cole has tutored middle and high school students across a range of subjects. He loves the creative challenge of explaining the same concept in different ways for different students, and he’s found that he understands material far more deeply once he’s taught it.

Outside of tutoring, Cole is a classical and jazz flautist who has performed with the UVA Jazz Ensemble and several smaller groups, and he enjoys recording and mixing covers in his free time. An Eagle Scout, he spends as much time as he can outdoors playing tennis, running, climbing, and bouldering. Recent adventures include backpacking in Peru, backcountry skiing in the Alps, scuba diving, and hauling a man out of a glacial crevasse during an alpine training course (a tricky SAT question doesn’t stand a chance). Looking ahead, Cole hopes to help design the habitats and rovers that will one day explore other planets, and he’s inspired by people who live life to the fullest and think deeply about the impact they leave behind.