Hi! I'm Becca, and I'm a writing coach at Admission Ignition. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself.

My love of writing, language, and words began a long time ago with a huge book of obscure fairytales. Nightly, stories like “The Nightingale” and “Catskin” were read aloud by my father, a literature professor. Fairytales and mythology are still some of my favorite stories to read and share: they stand the test of time and can teach us a lot about storytelling, society, and ourselves! As I grew up, fairytales were followed by Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, and eventually, my dad was passing me piles of Jane Austen (apparently every 16-year-old girl should read Emma) and trying to convince me to try The Brothers Karamazov again… while I secretly destroyed his yellowed copies of The Handmaid’s Tale and Brave New World. 

I majored in literature at Bard College, a small liberal arts school in New York.  After being recommended by a professor and vetted by several rounds of interviewing, I was hired to work with first-year students as an employee at the college’s writing center for three years. During my junior year, I was lucky enough to qualify for a life-changing six months abroad studying medieval literature at Hertford College, Oxford. While reading Celtic versions of King Arthur and struggling through The Canterbury Tales in Old English was exciting, when it came time to write my senior thesis, I pivoted to American literature. I crafted 60 pages on the connection between gender, race, and writing by examining a female slave narrative, a Harlem Renaissance novella, and Toni Morrison’s Sula. I was proud to earn the highest letter grade on the final project—  but my work with words was far from over. 

Even though I loved lit, I also had a passion for pop culture, which I explored after graduation. After internships at The New York Observer, I worked for nearly seven years in unscripted television in New York, LA, and London, writing pitches and developing new ideas from bullet point to pilot. A TV pitch is surprisingly similar to an argumentative essay – the main idea needs to be clear, supported, and persuasive to the reader. 

More recently, I returned to my first love and pursued a Master's from The University of Chicago, worked as a Lector running a seminar group for their writing program, and simultaneously acted as a Writing Tutor for the Community Colleges of Chicago. 

This experience coupled with my time working at Bard has given me a strong sense of college-level writing and what will be required of students in the next stage of their educational careers. I also got a firsthand look at the struggles of students across multiple skill levels and feel confident I can prepare Admission Ignition students for the rigor of university – and of adult life afterward. 

I am extremely passionate about helping students learn to love to write and hope to connect with you soon!

Sincerely,

Becca