Bio:
Zach is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where he earned a degree in anthropology with honors and was an early inductee into the Phi Beta Kappa honors society. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from The New School, earned a certificate in writing from UC Berkeley, and has completed graduate-level coursework on the topic of writing pedagogy that has lent him fluency in cognitivist, expressivist, and socio-epistemological styles of teaching. His creative work has earned him the James T. Whitehead Award for Fiction from the University of Arkansas, multiple scholarships from The New School, as well as the Carlisle Scholarship from the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. His work has appeared in A Public Seminar, and he has given readings at multiple venues across New York City. Zach approaches the counseling process with a steadfast belief in every student’s potential, as well as an interest in understanding what motivates and inspires them. A graduate of both Eaglebrook School and Milton Academy, he augments his background as an educator with significant firsthand experiences in the American boarding school system. A trained time-management coach, Zach also has experience in helping students boost their grades and learn to manage competing demands on their time.
Written Communication: Zach has three years of experience (and counting) in teaching, tutoring, and coaching students to become more effective writers. At the University of Arkansas, Zach taught hundreds of undergraduate students in topics ranging from freshman composition to creative writing, and was consistently praised in his student evaluations for his enthusiasm and perceptible passion for the subject. He brought these assets to a one-on-one context in his work as a Writing Tutor at The New School (where he also TA-ed and lectured for an introductory literature class), and continues to do so today in his current position as essay counselor at Tokyo Academics. Zach is passionate about written communication, loves to discuss punctuation, and is firm in his belief that writing is a skill that can become accessible to any student.
Narrative: Separate from his expertise in the mechanics of written communication, Zach also brings to Tokyo Academics his passion for and deep understanding of storytelling, an understanding largely garnered over the course of his four years of graduate-level creative writing study. From Mrs. Dalloway to Infinite Jest, Zach has analyzed the methods by which stories can allow us to see meaning in the unexpected, and become invested in those we know only on paper – skills applicable not only to the college essay, but to the college application as a whole. Zach uses his years-long experience in analyzing stories to help his students determine how best to portray themselves, ensuring that the many components of their applications work together so as to form a clear, cohesive, and indelible impression.
Boarding School Admissions: As a graduate of not one but two boarding schools, Zach has an in-depth and firsthand knowledge of not only the boarding school experience writ large, but also the ways in which that experience can differ from school to school. Thus, he brings to his boarding-school students the perspective of someone who has lived in both single-sex and co-ed environments, both with and without a dress code, and in settings both urban and rural. Zach’s students benefit not only from the insights he’s gained by doing so, but also from the extensive network of boarding school alumni that he’s accrued along the way.
Zach has successfully supported students to gain acceptance to Cornell, UC Berkeley, UBC, Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, Babson, and many others.
Curriculum Expertise
College Counseling, Essay Counseling
Subject Expertise
English