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I have been blessed with a blue-chip education. A native of New York City, I attended Trinity School. I earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College, where I completed a double major in History and English, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. I received a Masters degree from London School of Economics and attended Stanford Law School for one year before turning to full-time writing.
My first jobs were as journalist. I worked as a staff correspondent in the London headquarters of The Economist and the Hong Kong bureau of The Asian Wall Street Journal. After a brief stint doing stand-up comedy in NYC, I turned to long form writing.
In time, I wrote two books, both of which are first-person narratives, the literary genre closest to college essays. One book, Sparring With Charlie: Motorbiking Down The Ho Chi Minh Trail, was published by Doubleday. The other book, Waiting For Fidel, was published by Houghton Mifflin.
I also work as an editor and coach for professional writers. Together, we turn good ideas into published books, which include Pandora's Lunchbox by New York Times veteran Melanie Warner and The Long Haul by first-time author Finn Murphy.
Everyone can write a great college essay.
The secret is structure, in general, and narrative structure, in particular. I show students storytelling methods I learned as a journalist and share writing techniques I developed while writing my books. Add my intrinsic interest in helping people find the material most likely to reveal their essence, and the result is Common App and supplemental essays that are memorable.
Step-by-step of my essay coaching process: http://www.collegeessaymentor.com/about-the-essay-process
Is raising teenagers an interest? Or a calling? Either way, I have two teens, with whom I spend a ton of time. As a city kid on the loose in Colorado, I make a point of enjoying the outdoors by skiing, hiking, and mountain biking. Outside of college admissions season, I travel to research my next book. Recent stops include Norway, Argentina, Poland, and Singapore.