Get Help With Your College Essay: Columbia/UCLA Journalist & Educator

Deborah Y.

Now is the time to brainstorm, draft, polish, and submit your college essay. I can help you uncover your personal storyline and craft a compelling, thematic essay that gives admissions readers a clear, memorable sense of who you are.

I’m a writer and teacher with a master’s in journalism from Columbia University and a master’s in education from UCLA. I’ve taught bilingual (Spanish) language arts in New Jersey and elementary school in California.

As an experienced grant writer, I know how to stay tightly aligned to prompts while shaping engaging, creative responses that weave in meaningful personal evidence.

I support writers across genres, offering big-picture guidance and content editing for academic essays, and serving as a thoughtful beta reader for short stories and novels. I spent nearly a decade as a newspaper reporter, covering education, breaking news, and long-form features. As a weekend editor, I also reviewed and refined others’ work. I’m a published poet currently at work on a novel.

I’m especially passionate about teaching English to non-native speakers. My graduate research focused on language acquisition, and I’ve seen firsthand how learners thrive when they feel supported. In my work with ESL adults, I build confidence through conversation while scaffolding grammar and vocabulary.

Above all, I’m a warm, engaging tutor who will help you move past “blank page” paralysis and access your inner writer.