Hi, friends, and welcome back to our series, "On Becoming: The Art and Craft of Personal Storytelling." I'm Tom Campbell, former Pomona and Holy Cross admissions officer, and one of the CEG podcast co-hosts, alongside my lovely colleagues Tillie and Ethan. In this series, we take a close look at personal essays written by real students, talking about why we love them, what makes them work, and how they came to be.
In this episode, we break down an essay that we're calling The Translator. This student, who worked with one of our amazing essay coaches Lavon Robinson a few years back, wanted to share how he acted as a translator not just for his brother on the autism spectrum, but for other neurodivergent students in his school and wider community. It's a model for anyone who wants to write an essay about a relationship that's been particularly meaningful to them, but is nervous about making the essay too much about the other person.
If you're the kind of person who enjoys seeing how things get made, whether it's a great meal, a film scene, or a piece of writing, I have a feeling you might enjoy this one.
Lavon (he/him) has always been a coach. From managing fundraising campaigns, teaching swimming, and school counseling, Lavon finds joy in coaching others to find their joy. He earned his BA in Business from Illinois Wesleyan University and his M.ED from DePaul University. He also has a College Counseling Certificate from UCSD. He currently works as a school counselor at an independent school in Chicago after spending eight years as a college counselor at a large suburban high school. He has hosted webinars with 500+ families on how to best work with their school counselor and visited various colleges around the country for professional development. His students have been accepted to colleges including Northwestern University, the University of Southern California, Williams College, and the University of Florida. At the core of his work is building connections with unconditional positive regard as he works with students to build trust and reach their potential. He understands the college admissions process is stressful and takes the most joy in supporting students to relieve anxiety while going through the process.
We hope you enjoy.
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