Instructors and Staff
Arun Alagappan is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton University. In law school, Arun served on the Board of Editors of the Harvard International Law Journal and volunteered at numerous public service organizations. Later, Arun worked briefly at the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City and then for a year as a Federal Law Clerk to The Honorable Judge Nelson of The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Arun has prepared thousands of students for tests such as the SAT, ACT, LSAT, GMAT, GRE and MCAT; he also taught in the Mathematics Department of Harvard College and at a learning disabilities center in New York City. At Harvard, the Dean of the College awarded Arun a Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Teaching of Harvard Undergraduates.
In 1986, Arun founded Advantage Testing, Inc. and has served as its President since. He serves on the Boards of Trustees of Prep for Prep and the Leadership Council of LEDA and is Founder and President of the Advantage Testing Foundation.
Hector graduated magna cum laude from California State University with a B.A. in Philosophy, Political Science, and Psychology (Triple-Major) and then earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Throughout his education, Hector has been recognized for excellence, receiving, among other awards, the Horatio Alger Association National Scholarship, the UCLA Law Fellow Award, and the New York Model UN Distinguished Delegation Award. Before joining Advantage Testing, Hector served as Chief Counsel for the Office of the Vice Mayor of Cambridge, provided legal advocacy at the Criminal Justice Institute of Harvard Law School, and worked for a Boston-based venture capital firm. He has passed the NY State bar examination.
Hector has served an integral role in the legal community—co-chairing the Harvard Latino Law, Policy, and Business Conference and speaking at many forums, including Princeton University, UCLA Law School, NYU Law School, Harvard Business School, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Prior to law school, Hector taught public school students diagnosed with learning and emotional disabilities, coached and tutored for the Boys & Girls Club of America, and completed his psychology internship at a center for seniors suffering from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and dementia.
Sarah Bernbach graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a B.A. in Classics. She earned a blue ribbon for the highest score in the country on the National Greek Exam. A lifelong New Yorker, Sarah became a teacher following her graduation from college. After detours through work as a pastry chef, fine bookbinder, freelance writer, and costume designer, Sarah returned to the academic world as a tutor at Advantage Testing. Here, every day she continues to feel the marvelous inspiration of working with her many-splendored students and to explore the heights of human expression, the creation of meaning, and the communication of understanding through languages and math.
Jay Stull is a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bowdoin College. He received his A.B. in Government with a minor in English Literature. Jay is the recipient of the Michael Francis Micciche III Memorial Award and of the Philip Henry Brown First Prize in Extamporaneous Composition. Jay studied at Stanford Law School, where he received the Hilmer Oehlmann Jr. Award for brief and oral argument. He previously served as an analyst for the U.S. Department of Justice's International Development Programs in Asia. Jay has prepared more than 1,000 students for the LSAT.
Vanessa graduated with a B.S. in Human Services from California State University, Fullerton. She served as an Event Planner chair member for the Human Services Student Association and as a California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) representative for financially disadvantaged students committed to Public Child Welfare. While attending college, she worked for Orange and Fullerton Unified School Districts, where she was recognized for her exceptional progress with students with special needs, and for the Department of Education as a Title 1 Tutor, serving at-risk teens living in group home settings. At Harvard Business School, she was the Preschool Teacher for the children of M.B.A. students and faculty. Vanessa has extensive management experience at various start-up companies. As a Practice Manager in a healthcare venture, she continues to help others by creating positive working environments and relationships with doctors, surgery centers, and patients.
As the newest member of the Advantage Testing Foundation, Vanessa is excited to work with students from diverse backgrounds and contribute to the foundation’s mission of propelling motivated young leaders toward their law school dreams. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their dog Coco, weightlifting, watching Mixed Martial Arts, leaving positive reviews for restaurants and small businesses, painting, and, most recently, learning digital art.