Meet Chirani Thammita – Wiingy’s rising star chemistry tutor
By Wiingy on Apr 22, 2026
Updated Apr 22, 2026
In this article
Chirani Thammita · Chemistry Tutor · Wooster, Ohio
Part of the Wiingy Tutor Spotlight Series – where we go beyond the profile page and introduce you to the real people behind your lessons.
Most students who struggle with chemistry believe the subject is simply too hard. Chirani Thammita disagrees, and she has nearly a decade of results to back her up.
Based in Wooster, Ohio, Chirani is a Health Sciences graduate, prospective medical student, and pianist who has been tutoring chemistry since she was a teenager.
Her take on the subject is refreshingly direct: chemistry isn’t hard, you just need to know the tricks. Whether she’s building lessons around your favourite food, turning concepts into stories, or calling out a student who’s clearly leaning too hard on AI, Chirani brings the kind of energy and personalisation that turns C+ students into A+ students.
She sat down with us to talk about her 15-minute daily rule, the student in Sri Lanka who stumped her with a question about silicone implants, and why her teaching journey would be called Stoichiometry: Balancing Ratios Every Single Day.
Who is Chirani Thammita?
Chirani holds a Bachelor’s in Health Sciences from PennWest University Edinboro, Pennsylvania and specialises in guiding high school and college students through general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, atomic structure, and lab skills.
She’s been tutoring since her college years – next year marks a full decade, and her approach has always been the same: find out how the student learns, then build the lesson entirely around that.
Outside of tutoring she’s a prospective medical student and a pianist who has been playing since the age of two. She doesn’t currently own a piano. She’s working on fixing that.
The interview
Beyond being a Wiingy tutor, who are you in real life?
“In real life, I’m a prospective medical student, a daughter, and a wife. I’m also a pianist.”
Take us back to your first Wiingy lesson – were you calm or in full “please don’t let the WiFi crash” panic mode?
“I was calm. I’ve been tutoring for a long time, and next year it’ll be a decade of tutoring chemistry. The only time I panicked was when my student said, ‘I can’t hear you.’ I just had to pivot from what I was using for my earbuds.”
What’s one small moment that made you feel like, “This is why I teach”?
“There’s not one small moment, there have been many. The gist of it is I love seeing what students can do once they actually grasp a concept and how they apply it. Especially when I see a C+ student get an A+ at the end of the semester. That’s the biggest gratification I have.”
“When I see a C+ student get an A+ at the end of the semester, that’s the biggest gratification I have.” – Chirani Thammita
The 15-minute rule: Chirani’s top practice tip
When we asked Chirani for her top tip for students who want to improve faster, she didn’t prescribe hour-long study sessions or complicated revision systems. She gave us something anyone can actually do.
“15 minutes a day. Just skim through whatever you went through. That’s all it takes.”
Simple, low-pressure, and consistent. Coming from someone who has watched students transform their grades over nearly a decade, that advice is worth taking seriously.
What’s your trick for making boring topics interesting?
“I’m a very dramatic person in real life, but when it comes to students, it depends. With high school students, on the first day of the demo I ask, ‘What’s your favourite thing to do or favourite food?’ – so all my examples and concepts are based on that. With college students, I base everything on real-world applications.”
If your teaching journey was a movie, what would the title be?
“‘Stoichiometry: Balancing Ratios Every Single Day.'”
What kind of student were you – top scorer, last-minute procrastinator, or somewhere in between?
“Top scorer. I could never be a procrastinator, that’s just not me. I always got things done way ahead of time. No in-between either.”
On AI and Learning
Chirani has seen both sides of the AI debate firsthand – and she’s not shy about it.
“It depends. AI is a really good tool if you want to learn something, but if you’re lazy, you can cheat with it too. I’ve had a fair share of both types of students, and I’ve not been scared to call them out. But overall, it’s a good tool.”
On whether she uses it herself: “Chemistry is a concept-based subject and I tailor every lesson for the specific student. AI wouldn’t help me in that way.”
The story that says everything about her as a teacher
Every tutor has a moment that stops them mid-sentence. For Chirani, it happened in Sri Lanka, during a lesson on the periodic table.
“We were talking about rare metals and elements the body only takes in small amounts, and a student asked me, ‘So why does my mother get silicone implants?’ I was also a teenager at the time, so I just said, ‘I’ll get back to you on that.'”
The fact that she still remembers it, and laughs about it – tells you she’s the kind of tutor who genuinely pays attention to the students in front of her, even the ones who take the lesson somewhere completely unexpected.
Rapid fire with Chirani
| Strict or Chill? | Chill |
| Coffee first or Class first? | Don’t drink coffee – class first |
| Planner or Improviser? | Both |
| Handwritten notes or Typed notes? | Handwritten |
| Googled something mid-class? | Yes |
| Early bird or Night owl? | Depends on the day |
| Homework: Essential or Optional? | Essential for high school, optional for college |
| Movie or Reading? | Reading |
| Life’s warning label? | “Beware, introvert. Be professional.” |
10 seconds to convince you
We gave Chirani ten seconds. Here’s her pitch:
“Chemistry is hard – that’s up to you. But if you come to my class, you’ll learn some tricks and make it your life.”
Ready to learn chemistry with Chirani?
If chemistry has always felt like a wall you can’t get over, Chirani is the tutor who will find the door. Whether you’re a high school student trying to keep up or a college student aiming to turn a struggling grade around, her approach is built entirely around you – your learning style, your interests, and your goals.
Book a lesson with Chirani Thammita
Explore more spotlights in our Rising Star series, or browse all Wiingy tutors to find your perfect match.
Apr 22, 2026
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