confidential, compassionate, practical magic for

summer!

Summer specials

We're piloting two new services this summer and would love to trade you a 40% discount on them for a little extra patience with logistics.

Six Meetings

Discovery Meeting— Family Welcome (45 minutes)
- Identify the essay prompts and questions we'll tackle together and set specific goals.
- Share information about the student's learning style and personal needs.
- Answer any questions about the process.

Four 1:1 Instruction & Support Sessions (up to 1 hour each)

These sessions address whatever needs come up for the student during the writing and revising process, such as brainstorming, idea development, grammar and style fixes, adherence to word counts, and overcoming lack of motivation and procrastination.

Wrap-up session— Family welcome (30 minutes)
- Share the work we accomplished with family members.
- Identify any next steps.

two rounds of revisions / essay

unlimited number of essays
- Craft responses to short answer questions as well as full length essays.
- Complete essays for scholarships, internships, and enrichment programs, as well as applications to multiple colleges and universities.

comprehensive feedback
- Receive two rounds of written comments on each essay: student submits a first draft, I comment on the first draft, student revises and submits a second draft, I comment on the second draft.
- We'll draft and comment through Google drive, and family members may choose to be included in these shared documents.
- The student will receive comments within two business days of a draft submission.

group work sessions for nw Arkansas students

Quiet company
- For students who are easily distracted or struggle with procrastination or a motivation, it can incredibly helpful to meet others at a set time to work quietly side by side.
- Supervised sessions will take place three times during the month, but I'm happy to connect families of students for whom this strategy works well if you'd like to arrange additional shared work time.

Dates & Locations
- Sessions will take place in the Northwest Arkansas public library closest to the largest concentration of participating students.
- Dates and times will be arranged to maximize access for participating students.

Emotional support

For many students, college applications are the first time they're applying for anything serious. It's stressful! I'm here to encourage students through the process, and help them navigate anxiety and perfectionism, procrastination, and writer's block.
College essays do NOT have to be about the hardest experiences of a student's life, but they do need to be meaningful. As a trained and experienced crisis counselor and support group facilitator, I'm comfortable hearing and moving through the heavy stuff.
Students aren't the only ones stressed by the college application process! Family members are welcome to call and text me for updates, share concerns, and ask questions throughout the month.

expert advice

Helping others write is a process I know inside and out. I taught high school English in both New York City and the Arkansas Delta (Honors 9th grade, Honors 11th grade, Honors 12th grade, AP Language, and AP Literature), and have coached hundreds of high school students through writing application essays and personal statements. I also taught composition and essay writing courses to undergrads at the University of Arkansas during graduate school, and worked in the writing center there, working 1:1 on writing projects with students of all ages and in all disciplines, from the very first assignments of college, to graduate theses and dissertations, to personal statements and program applications.
I'm an Ivy graduate (magna cum laude, Columbia '01). I majored in English, and received a multi-year fellowship focused on the theory and pedagogy of writing.
I've applied successfully to many academic programs myself, from college, to MA and PhD programs, to law school. I know what makes an essay genuinely compelling to admissions officers who are reading hundreds of responses to the same prompt, and I'd love to share my strategies with you.

come-as-you-are Discovery meeting (1 hour)

What happens
- I'll interview you about your professional story, ambitions, and values. We'll walk through your skills and interests and contributions, career gaps, education and training, key employment and volunteer experiences. You'll share your goals— what you want this LinkedIn update to help you achieve.
- This call is also an opportunity to share your areas of professional insecurity. Your openness in this regard helps us craft a LinkedIn profile that supports your confidence as you move into the next phase of your career.
- We'll create a timeline for the project, and you'll leave the call with a short list items to send my way.

What you don't need to bring
- No formatted, updated resume needed! You'll talk and I'll take notes. If there's something you can't remember in the moment, that's totally normal and no problem at all. You can dig it up later and send it my way, or we can work around it.
- Answers and info for every option on the LinkedIn menu. A strong profile is true to who you are. If a section isn't relevant to your experience and goals, it is 100% fine to skip it.
- Your best self. Talking about work and career stuff is vulnerable, hard work. When I say "come as you are," I mean it.

content development (6 hours)

writing, organizing, & prioritizing
- All of my work on your profile is aligned to your goals.
- I'll match the information you share with me with the appropriate section of your profile to ensure that your key accomplishments aren't overlooked by those you most want to notice them.
- I'll do all the writing! If there are parts of your existing profile that you like, we can absolutely keep them.

Core, recommended, and additional content
- LinkedIn categorizes profile sections as "core,' recommended," and "additional." I'll include the sections I think best showcase your professional self. You can have as much play in this selection process as you want. When I send you the completed draft of all of the written content for your first round of revisions, the document will include the entire menu of section options. If I've left one blank that you'd like me to add, I'm happy to add it.
- Core Content includes the following sections: About, Current Role, Services, Experience, Education, Career Breaks, and Skills. Most people are served by including all or most of these sections in their profile.
- Recommended and Additional Content provide opportunities to build credibility and relationships by highlighting media, special projects, awards, articles and patents, and volunteer commitments. It's okay to skip these content areas entirely, or to utilize just one or two. If you have lots to share, we'll highlight whatever best supports your goals and next steps.

brand cohesion (1 hour)

Photo & Headline
- Brand cohesion includes the parts of your profile that others see every time you appear on the platform: your photo and headline. I'll help you choose your photo and create a keyword-rich headline with personality: your personality.

Data entry & Interface Optimization
- I'll upload all written content, photos, and other media to your profile.
- I'll make sure links work, files load quickly and easily, and that you're using terms recruiters and others in your industry search.
- LinkedIn doesn't support formatting strategies like bullets and bold, but there are work-arounds, and I'll implement them.

two rounds of revision (2 hours)

Round One
- I'll share a Google doc with you that includes all of the written content for your profile. This document will include some comments asking you to check a certain section especially carefully, offering a few different phrasing options for you to choose from, or requesting additional information.
- You'll use the comment function to tell me what you'd like me to change.

Round Two / launch call
- I'll add (but not publish) all of the new written content and media to your profile.
- During our Launch Call, we'll to go through your profile together. If there's anything that doesn't look or sound quite right to you, I'll edit before your profile goes live.
- During this part of the process, your profile is dark on LinkedIn, so I'll upload your new content just before our call and make any edits that same day.