I was still in middle school when I had my first story published in a professional daily newspaper, The York (Pa.) Dispatch. Seeing my byline in print reeled me in: I knew I was going to be a journalist.

Since then, my passion for writing and editing has taken me to Chicago, where I graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 2004; to Miami, where I worked as a metro reporter at The Miami Herald from 2004-2009; and most recently to St. Louis, where I am now a features reporter, editor and columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

I have always genuinely enjoyed helping others -- colleagues, students, friends and family -- fine-tune their writing, whether it's a newspaper story, personal essay, fiction manuscript or science report.

At Varsity Tutors, I have worked with all levels of students, from fifth-graders to college freshmen. I love words, and I try to convey that by tutoring with a sense of fun when it comes to spelling, grammar and basic writing.

I also help high school juniors and seniors with their college-application essays. Depending on each student's needs, we can either start from the beginning to brainstorm ideas and craft an outline, or we can collaborate on editing and revising drafts until the essays are in tip-top shape. In this capacity as writing coach and essay editor, I can conveniently meet with students in person, via e-mail and by phone, making it easy to work with clients anywhere.