KATIE

college essay coach

DePaul University, M.A. in Writing
University of Illinois, Chicago M.A. in English
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign B.A. in Media Studies

Katie has been teaching high school English for almost two decades, with a few years in between working in educational publishing and as a freelance writer. Currently, Katie is the Interim Director of the Center for Humanities at an independent school in upstate New York, as well as an English teacher in the upper school. 

Throughout her career, Katie has taught students from a wide range of backgrounds in an array of courses from freshman English to a senior seminar based on student-created content and reflective learning. In her position as Director of the Writing Center at a large public high school outside of Chicago, Katie trained teacher- and student-tutors in conference-based tutoring for students at any stage in the writing process.  

Relocating from Chicago to upstate New York in 2019, Katie taught Western Humanities and supervised pre-service English teachers at SUNY Geneseo before joining an independent school community in January 2020.

Katie loves working with students on their college application essays. In fact, it’s one of her favorite things about being an English teacher. By her calculations, she has mentored more than 500 students on their college application essays. In her spare time, Katie enjoys hanging out with her husband, her teenage son, and their dog, Raymond.

Favorite Place to Study Chicago Public Library

Favorite Book The Poisonwood Bible, The Great Gatsby, anything by Shirley Jackson or Colson Whitehead or Mohsin Hamid

Hidden Talent ironic Taylor Swift cover songs

Offerings

College Prep

College Essay Support