Academic Writing
For writers who want to do more than finish the assignment.
You have ideas. The challenge is shaping them into a clear argument while balancing evidence, academic conventions, and your own voice. When all those pieces are competing for attention, the idea that matters most can be hard to see.
I help writers find the thread beneath the ideas and follow where it leads.
Stronger ideas. Stronger arguments. Stronger writers.
Advanced Student Writing
Build the skills behind exceptional writing.
One-on-one coaching for students who want to become stronger, more confident, more sophisticated writers.
AP English Language & Composition • Research papers • Argumentative writing • Creative writing • Advanced editing & revision
Writing Competition Coaching
Make strong writing stand out.
For writers preparing submissions to selective writing competitions and journals.
HIR • Scholastic Art & Writing Awards • The Concord Review • Jane Austen Society Essay Contest
College Admissions Essays
Your story. Your voice. Your application.
I help students identify the experiences, ideas, and perspectives that make their applications distinctive while showcasing their unique voice. From brainstorming and application strategy to essay development, revision, and editing, I guide students through the writing process while keeping the work authentically theirs.
Common App • University of California PIQs • Supplemental essays
Finding the thread.
Recently, a student came to me with a college application essay she'd been struggling to finish. The story was too familiar: an athlete tears her ACL, loses her sport, and learns to overcome adversity. But that wasn't going to make her stand out at an Ivy League school, so we kept talking.
Before her injury, her life revolved around sports and school. Her bedroom was almost empty because she was rarely in it. During her recovery, she began making things. Crafts and projects slowly filled her room, and she started seeing pieces of herself everywhere. Suddenly, the story wasn't about losing her sport. It was about how losing her mobility expanded her world.
The story had been there all along. We just had to find the thread.
After more than 25 years in the classroom and 7,000+ individual writing conferences, I've learned when to ask another question, follow an unexpected connection, or keep talking until the thread begins to emerge.
With a PhD in Composition & TESOL and an MA in English & Technical Writing, I work with writers from advanced high school through graduate research, including multilingual writers navigating academic English while preserving their individual voices.