I'm Stella! I'm a fiction writer and incoming professor based in NYC. I hold a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University and a Bachelors in English and French from the University of Pennsylvania. My favorite book is Moby-Dick, but I won't force anyone to read all 700 pages. I'm at work on my own first novel now, and I'll be teaching creative writing to undergrads at Columbia next spring. I tutor middle and high school students in the NYC area in English Language Arts,...
I'm Stella! I'm a fiction writer and incoming professor based in NYC. I hold a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University and a Bachelors in English and French from the University of Pennsylvania. My favorite book is Moby-Dick, but I won't force anyone to read all 700 pages. I'm at work on my own first novel now, and I'll be teaching creative writing to undergrads at Columbia next spring. I tutor middle and high school students in the NYC area in English Language Arts, Social Studies, essay writing, creative writing, and college essay construction. I'm a lifelong New Yorker with experience in the private and public school system, and when I think back to my high school days, it's always the teachers I remember the most. I prioritize relationship building with students, creating open, honest channels of communication so we can make the best of our learning endeavor together. Writing and reading can be scary, vulnerable activities, especially when they don't come easily - I seek to demystify both by finding material tailored to the student's interests, going at the pace of each student's learning styles, and keeping the families/caregivers up to date on our progress so they can discuss our work on their own time with their student. I tend to assign exercises outside our sessions to supplement each student's coursework, but I always take into account their workload from school so as to not overload them. When it comes to college essay writing, I like to lay out a long and detailed timeline with each student so we can break a pretty intimidating process into smaller, attainable milestones as we build our essays brick by brick. Aside from my work with younger students, I also have spent two years teaching a creative writing workshop to adult writers at Rikers Island with The Kite literacy program. I love to bring creative writing to adults of all professions and life situations - writing saved my life many times, and I love to see how it can bring so much insight and expression to others!
