The ACT For Dummies

Michelle Rose Gilman is proud to be known as Noah’s mom (Hi Noah!). A graduate from the University of South Florida, Michelle found her niche early and at 19 was already working with emotionally disturbed and learning-disabled students in hospital settings. At 21 she made the trek to California and there she found her passion for helping teenage students become more successful in school and life. What started as a small tutoring business in the garage of her California home, quickly expanded and grew to the point where traffic control was necessary on her residential street. Today, Michelle is the Founder and CEO of Fusion Learning Center, a private school and tutoring/test prep facility in Solana Beach, CA, serving over 2,000 students per year. She has taught tens of thousands of students since 1988. She created the Mentoring Approach to Learning and is the author of various books on self-esteem, writing, and motivational topics. Michelle founded the Addiction and Recovery Division at Fusion and has overseen dozens of programs focused on helping kids become healthy adults. She currently specializes in motivating the unmotivatable adolescent, comforting their shell-shocked parents, and assisting her staff of 27 teachers.

Veronica Saydak graduated from the University of San Diego with a Bachelors Degree in English. She found her real education in travel and seeing the world. She has traveled to over 12 countries, studying various cultures through their literature and lifestyles. She has been a highly coveted English teacher, specializing in writing, for over 4 years. Currently, Veronica is the Director of Student Development at Fusion Learning Center, where she is responsible for program development, staff supervision, and teaching her students on a one-to-one basis. As an administrator, Veronica specializes in the emotional well-being of over 400 students. Her wit and humor might not solve the world’s problems but it definitely makes the world feel lighter.

Although more likely to admit to being a used-car salesperson, Suzee Vlk was a test prep specialist from 1975 to her death in 2003, working her way through graduate business school and law school teaching courses in ACT, SAT I, GRE, GMAT, and LSAT preparation. By her own description, she found the paranoia and take-no-prisoners mindset required for doing well on the ACT a big help in developing cutthroat tactics to use in the boardroom or courtroom. Eventually, she became president of Suzee Vlk Test Prep and taught thousands of students in dozens of courses at universities and private corporations. She wrote material used in SAT and GRE preparation software and videos. Her prep books for the ACT and other standardized exams have been published worldwide.