Struggling with O-Chem is rarely about effort. It's usually about approach. After 15 years watching students get stuck in the same handful of patterns, I know how to pinpoint what's going wrong and give you a targeted path forward.
After 15 years teaching organic chemistry, I've seen many of these patterns come up again and again. If any of them sound familiar, there may be something here that's useful for you.
"I studied for days and felt totally ready. Then the exam looked nothing like what I prepared for."
"I think I know the answer, then I second-guess myself and change it. I can never just commit."
"There's so much to know. I don't even know where to start or what actually matters for the exam."
"Orgo I was hard but manageable. Orgo II feels like a wall. Too many reactions to keep up with."
Each of these patterns is well-understood. Knowing which one is in play makes a real difference in what to do next.
I've been teaching organic chemistry at the college level for over 15 years. In that time, I've worked closely with many students, plenty of them smart, motivated, and genuinely putting in the work, who still struggled. Not because they weren't capable, but because something specific in their approach was working against them.
I hold a PhD in Organic Chemistry and have spent my career not just teaching the content, but studying why students get stuck. The patterns are remarkably consistent. And once you know what's actually going on, the path forward becomes clear.
OrgoNavigator is how I bring that diagnostic experience to students beyond my own classroom. You get personalized attention from someone with deep familiarity with how students get stuck in this course, and what tends to help.
What I've learned after fifteen years: organic chemistry doesn't fail smart, hard-working students. Broken strategies do. Once we find the real issue, the path forward is almost always clear.
Every service is personalized to you: your course, your professor, your specific gaps. You're not getting a generic explanation. You're getting a diagnosis and a plan. I work with students at any college or university. Live sessions are held remotely via video call.
Stuck on a specific problem? Submit it and within 24 hours you'll receive a personalized breakdown, not a generic solution, but a clear explanation of exactly where your thinking is going wrong and what to do to fix it. Let me know your preference for video or written when we're in touch.
Best for specific, targeted problems. If you're struggling broadly across the course, a Strategy Consultation will cover more ground.
For students whose effort isn't matching their results. In one focused session, I assess how you're approaching the course: what you're studying, how you're studying it, and where the disconnect is, and give you a concrete plan to change your trajectory before the next exam.
We work through your course material together in real time, tailored to your professor's style, your textbook, and your specific gaps. The full experience of having a real expert in your corner as you prepare.
Bring your study group (up to 10 people). We work through problems together with live coaching on approach and reasoning. Same quality and depth as 1-on-1, with the cost shared across your group.
One person from your group fills out the form and books on behalf of everyone. No need for all participants to submit separately. They just show up to the session.
Not sure which option fits? Fill out the short form and describe your situation. I'll read it and reply personally with what I'd recommend. No commitment required to reach out. Get in touch →
Fill out a short form: your name, email, course, and a brief description of your situation. Two minutes, no commitment required.
Fill out the form →I review your message myself and follow up within 24–48 hours with a recommendation for the right service. Or, if I think resources you already have access to are a better fit right now, I'll point you there instead.
Once we've connected, you pick the option that fits your situation and timeline. Nothing is required just to reach out.
Nothing is required just to fill out the form or start a conversation. After we've connected by email and agreed on the right service, I'll send you a Stripe payment link: $15 for a Problem Walkthrough, $99 for a Strategy Consultation, or $175 for a tutoring session. No payment information is collected on this site.
I'll reply personally within 24–48 hours of your intake, with a recommendation for the right service or, if resources already available to you are a better fit, with those instead. Once you've confirmed a Problem Walkthrough and payment goes through, your personalized breakdown will be delivered within 24 hours.
Yes. Just mention your preference when we're in touch. Both formats are equally thorough. Written is often easier to review later; video can make it easier to follow the reasoning in real time. Either works well.
Fill out the intake form and describe your situation: where you are in the course, what's happening, what you've already tried. I'll read it and suggest the right fit before you commit to anything.
All live sessions are held via Google Meet. Once you've booked a session, you'll receive a calendar invite with the Meet link. Nothing to download or set up in advance.
One person from your group fills out the intake form and handles booking on behalf of everyone. The $175 total covers the whole group. You decide how to split it among yourselves. Once the session is booked, just share the video call link with your group members. No need for everyone to submit separate forms.
Most O-Chem resources give you more content to study. What most struggling students actually need is someone to identify precisely what's getting in the way, and give them the one reframe that makes everything else click.
Most students who struggle with SN1 vs. SN2 reactions don't have a memorization problem. They have a mental model problem. They've memorized a list of rules, but they don't have a working sense of why a particular substrate and solvent are pushing a reaction in one direction.
When I work with a student on this, I'm not re-explaining the rules. I'm identifying which part of the model is broken for that specific student and giving them the one reframe that rebuilds it correctly. That's a very different experience from watching another YouTube video.
Students who struggle with drawing mechanisms aren't usually failing because they can't memorize arrows. They're failing because they're trying to memorize them at all. Once I shift a student from "which arrows go where" to "where are the electrons and where do they want to go," the entire mechanism section of the course starts to click.
The memorized arrows become derivable, and suddenly the student isn't carrying a list of disconnected facts. They're working from a principle. That's the shift that changes everything in the second half of the course.
My goal is for you to need me less after every session. I'm here to build your understanding, strengthen your reasoning, and grow your confidence, not to create dependency. The measure of a good session is whether you can handle similar problems on your own afterward. If that's the kind of help you're looking for, we'll work well together.
Tell me where you're at and I'll take it from there. The form takes about two minutes: just your course and a description of what's going on.
After you submit, I'll read your message and follow up personally within 24–48 hours, whether that's a recommendation, a direct path forward, or an honest suggestion about resources that may already be available to you. Nothing is required just to reach out.