Hello
I'm Kirsten, a writer, editor, and educator. I love working with students and clients at every stage of the writing process. I aim to help individuals identify and leverage their existing strengths, while also providing guidance and instruction in areas of potential growth.
My Story
I grew up in a small town in rural Oregon, where I attended a public school and dreamt about getting out into the world. My dream came true when I left to attend Williams College in beautiful western Massachusetts. At Williams, I majored in Chinese Language and won the Linen Thesis Prize in Asian Studies. After graduating in 2011, I continued my language studies in Taiwan as a recipient of the Taiwan Department of Education Huayu Enrichment Scholarship.
Upon returning to the U.S., I worked briefly in tech before transitioning into non-profit environmental conservation. While I was writing every day in my role as a Communications Director, I was hungry to give more time to my own projects, and in 2019 returned to school to pursue my MFA in Creative Writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop ('21). After Iowa, I went for a second master's degree in Theology from Yale Divinity School ('24). While receiving my MFA, I taught undergraduate English literature and creative writing courses at the University of Iowa. I also taught fiction writing at the New Mexico School for the Arts as a guest writer in residence.
For the past five years I've been helping high school students realize their own college dreams. As a mentor for college application essays, I've helped students earn admissions to Yale, Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Brown, Duke, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Harvey Mudd College, Dartmouth, and more. I have extensive experience helping students apply to competitive programs like computer science, biomedical engineering, and creative writing.​
Contact
I'm always happy to answer questions or address concerns. Email me at kirsten@writingwithinreach.com.