Mathematician and educator, based in Amsterdam. Planning to do the major teaching from September 2026.
I’m finishing my MSc in Mathematics at UvA. Over the years I’ve taught university students, organised events for 40+ people, told stories on stage in front of 100+, trained in conflict mediation, and co-founded organisations from scratch. Many passions that, in a way, all come together in teaching. Let me show you on this page.
Sam Ritchie
Presenting
How do you keep people engaged? How do you create curiosity? How do you explain something so it sticks? Thinking about these questions is something I’m deeply passionate about. From organising and hosting speaker events, to giving courses and lectures — what can I say or ask that makes the room lean forward?
I love attending speaker events — always impressed by the organisation. On 3 February 2026, I organised my own: a speaker event about “careers dedicated to helping animals” as part of EA Amsterdam. Three speakers: a political lobbyist in the Dutch parliament, a cultured meat researcher, and a prominent vegan activist. Around 40 people showed up. The event was entirely my initiative, and I hosted it.
EA Amsterdam speaker event, Feb 2026 · hover for story
Being a teaching assistant for first-year mathematics students at UvA was the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had. Watching someone move from confusion to clarity — really getting it — gave me a feeling nothing else matches. Teaching isn’t just a job to me. It’s a direct expression of what I care about most: helping people grow.
Tutorial teacher, Mathematics — UvA · hover for story
Contributing
My deepest purpose in life is to improve overall well-being — in others and in the world. This gives me enormous meaning and drives everything I do. It’s why I’m on the board of EA Amsterdam and why I care deeply about what I contribute. Teaching is one of the most direct ways I can live this purpose, by helping students grow and learn.
Growth
I’ve always been driven by expanding my comfort zone. Coming from a socially anxious past, at some point I decided I did not want to live like that anymore. For one full year, I did something outside of my comfort zone every single day. Seeing how that changed me over time was remarkable — for the first time in my life, I truly became comfortable and confident in who I am. That experience is exactly what I want to give students.
It is well known that many people struggle with insecurity when it comes to mathematics. I see it as my most important task as a teacher to show my students — and thereby help them believe — that they are capable. I am convinced that growth begins with a belief that growth is possible, because then you dare to go for it as you can envision a finish line you can be proud of.
One vivid example: when I first went to Mezrab (a storytelling and stand-up comedy venue) and saw people perform in front of hundreds, I thought — I would never dare do that, no matter how much I try to expand my comfort zone.
On 10 December 2025, I did it — performing in front of more than 100 people. It was one of the biggest milestones in my development. It proved to me that we are all capable of reaching things that might seem unrealistically far away right now.
On stage at Mezrab — 10 December 2025 · hover for story
I completed the conflict mediation course at Connecting to Life. The biggest thing I took from it was seeing conflict as a natural part of human existence, and thus becoming comfortable with it. I also gained tools to facilitate difficult conversations in a way that helps people start understanding each other and move forward.
Conflict mediation — Connecting to Life · hover for story
People
The most beautiful moments in life for me are when I truly understand someone, and when they feel that they are understood. I try my best to create a safe space for people to share their struggles. I want to be a teacher that people feel comfortable coming to talk with.
Creating
Creating something out of nothing is one of the things that excites me most. I co-founded and managed two non-profits, seeing them grow from an idea into real communities. What I love most is how something you build can take on a life of its own — Student Meditation is still running years after I stepped back. This passion of creating is something that is fully lived when teaching, because of the space for my creative input when preparing lessons and designing learning experiences.
Student Meditation — chair & co-founder (Jan 2019 – Dec 2020). From 4 people with an idea to 130 members, with me managing a team of 20. I learned how to run an organisation in a sustainable way.
Beyond Polarization — manager & co-founder. Videos of mediation sessions between people on opposite sides of polarised debates. The team grew from 2 to 25 people across 11 countries.
Beyond Polarization · hover
This was a combination of improv theater and musical improv. Performed with a live pianist to support our singing. We would together improvise a sort of musical based on suggestions from the audience.
On stage doing a musical improv performance — 30 March 2025 · hover for story
Improvising
I do improv theatre, musical improv, and I’m in a performing freestyle rap group.
Beyond being fun, I strongly believe improv is genuinely useful as a teacher as it trains a specific set of skills: thinking on your feet, listening deeply, staying in the moment,
letting go when you said something suboptimally instead of getting stuck on it, becoming comfortable in front of an audience, quickly generating ideas,
and building a vast toolkit for different ways to engage with people.
Programming & Automation
I completed a minor in programming and now build my own tools and websites — including this entire site.
I believe I could contribute meaningfully to a school by helping maintain or build digital infrastructure:
automating repetitive admin work, building useful tools for teachers, and freeing up time for what is meaningful.
One thing I don’t seem to ever get enough of is learning. I was so absorbed in my schoolwork during secondary school that my parents had to tell me to do something other than homework.
Then I completed my BSc in Mathematics, with a minor in programming and extra courses in computer science. During this time I became involved in setting up Student Meditation,
where I learned about management and took on my first board role. Meanwhile I developed my skills in guitar, improv, singing, and storytelling. I love reading and learning about history, economics, biology, psychology, philosophy — the list is endless.
I am very excited to be starting the major in teaching in September 2026, where I will learn and cultivate the art of teaching.
What people say
Testimonials from people I managed during the Beyond Polarization project
“Sam is an excellent listener, able to effectively reflect and translate what people say into practical, action-oriented solutions, resulting in a true masterpiece of the entire team.”
“When I think of working with Sam, I think of professionalism, clarity, and a calm, supportive presence, creating a cohesive and trusting team environment.”
“Having Sam as our manager gave me a deep sense of belonging, where my voice truly mattered, and this supportive environment motivated me to discover my strengths and contribute with confidence.”
This video is an explainer I made about an algorithm from a master’s course at UvA — I just felt like making a video about it. The target audience is mathematicians, but I’ve tried to make it approachable even without a math background, so do check it out!
Note: the video works best in Chrome. It may not load in all browsers.
