I am an experienced writing coach and college essay consultant who is committed to supporting students on their writing journeys, whether they are working on mastering academic writing or crafting thoughtful, compelling, and authentic personal statements for college and graduate school admissions. I provide my students with a structured process for drafting their essays and actionable steps for revision; my aim is to take the anxiety and guesswork out of the writing process so my students can bring their full selves to the page.

As a former college English professor, and now as a high school department chair and teacher, I have more than a decade of experience teaching high school and college students and supporting them at a variety of stages in their academic journeys, including the college application process. As a writing coach, my goal is to draw out the powerful stories that each of my students has to tell, whether they are working on academic writing, college admissions essays, medical, law, or graduate school personal statements, or on senior theses, dissertations, and fellowship proposals. Whatever the context, I am passionate about helping each of my students craft a compelling story in their own authentic voice, a story that they deliver with clarity and conviction. Students whose application essay writing I have supported have received admissions to Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, UCLA, UC Berkeley, NYU, Rice, Vanderbilt, USC, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Claremont McKenna, Pomona College, Skidmore, and Smith, among others.

As a professor, I taught literature and writing at Duke University, Emerson College, and the US Naval Academy, where I developed a highly effective curriculum for teaching argumentative, research, and personal essay writing. I am also a published scholar, a former academic journal assistant editor, and the recipient of numerous competitive research fellowships. I know what it takes for students to succeed at the high school and college levels and beyond, and I pride myself on fostering one-on-one relationships through which my students build the writing, analytical, and critical thinking skills that will serve them long after they’ve moved on to the next phase of their lives.

If you’re looking for support in crafting admissions essays, making progress on larger academic projects, or applying for competitive opportunities within the broader academic world, please contact me here or check out my profile Wyzant.