I have dedicated my career to guiding high school students shape and craft their life stories. As an AP English Language and Composition instructor - at Forest Hills Public Schools - I have guided thousands of students in the writing process for all genres of writing including personal narratives and, more specifically, college application essays. To ensure all students had access to writing support, I also designed and led a lunchtime, school writing center. 

 

I now share my experience - and that same enthusiasm for writing - with students either one-on-one or in groups, working with them as they write their college application and scholarship essays. I help students find their unique stories, convey their aspirations and craft indelible essays. Over the course of my career, I have coached hundreds of rising seniors through the process of brainstorming and selecting topics, drafting, adding style to and refining college essays to gain admittance to their desired universities including highly selective schools: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Case-Western, Yale University, Barnard College, Georgetown University, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, Middlebury College and Dartmouth College to name a few. After working together, not only do students write their way into college, they are better prepared for college and career writing.

 

Preparing for the future and applying to college begins long before writing the essay. Too often students move from test to test and year to year without intention. I work with students as early as ninth grade to help them intentionally navigate and make the most of high school and create a post-high school plan.

 

My overall interest is to help students succeed in life. While at Forest Hills, I was provided the opportunity to co-design, implement, and lead an all-school, comprehensive, career-preparation and school-culture program intended to guide and support all students in discovering their unique talents and in developing the many skills necessary for future success. For the design and implementation of this program, my team and I were awarded the Forest Hills Foundation 2021 Collaborative Teacher Team of the Year. My training in project-based learning from Buck Institute and design thinking from the Stanford d.school K-12 Lab, Henry Ford Learning Institute, and Steelcase Inc guided this work. I also co-designed and co-taught an American history/American literature, project-based learning class. I am committed to guiding students to develop skills necessary for future success: collaboration, communication, empathy, connection, curiosity, creative thinking, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and as a result - confidence for future success.