Introducing our College Essay Specialist

 

“Having a dedicated member of the College Counseling team available to support students, whether they are putting the final touches on their essay or starting from scratch, is relatively unique among schools,” said Kate McMann ’05, Dean of College Counseling. “While our students already have the support of their College Counselor as well as their teachers and advisor throughout the college process, having access to an Essay Specialist can give them an edge when it comes to writing their personal statement or supplementals.”

Napoleone joined the College Counseling Office in 2023 as the Administrative Assistant and Testing Coordinator. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Marist College as well as a master’s in school counseling from Central Connecticut State University. As a professional writer with a background in journalism, she is well versed in telling other people’s stories, and through her work as a grant writer for the American Mural Project in Winsted, she became skilled in telling a story in a very small space. That skill in particular is applicable to helping students to write supplemental essays that are limited to 250 words.

Asked about her new role, Napoleone said: “I think that it’s a way to give students extra support in determining how best to tell their own stories. Every student has a story — every human has a story — and what we do is spend the time to help them tell that.”

Napoleone works one-on-one with students, talking with them about different ideas and making suggestions on where to dive in deeper. “We are really encouraging students to use their stories to communicate their values, and sometimes it takes a little bit of extra time and digging to make those connections between stories and values, and what they want their impact to be when they leave Gunn,” she said.

As they begin the college process in earnest, Highlanders are well positioned to discuss their written work, which is organized in a portfolio called My Gunn Portrait from the time they arrive at Gunn. The College Counseling Office also works in partnership with the Center for Citizenship and Just Democracy to intentionally drive moments of self reflection that help students identify personal values that are put into action. This work over the course of their four years at Gunn ultimately helps students to build a narrative that will set them apart in the college process.

“Sometimes when students are either stuck or when they’re trying to deepen what they’ve already written, we’re pulling from resources in My Gunn Portrait, where they’ve already expressed some of those ideas, whether it’s their ‘This I Believe’ statement from grade 10 or their Junior Speech,” Napoleone said.

Time is also dedicated to writing the college essay as part of the curriculum. At the end of junior year and again at the start of senior year, Highlanders participate in College Essay Workshops. Working in partnership with the English Department faculty and the College Counseling Office, they begin writing their personal statement and supplemental essays. Classroom time is allotted for this work toward the end of junior year, and rising seniors are highly encouraged to refine their essays over the summer and arrive on campus with a completed draft in the fall. In the spring, juniors also participate in an Essay Writing Workshop led by a college representative. Last April, the session was led by Chris DeNegre, Assistant Director of Admission at Connecticut College.

Where the Common App prompts students to share their academic and extracurricular accomplishments, as reflected in their transcript, test scores, and activities, the essay allows them to decide what they want to share or highlight about themselves to make their application stand out.

“We encourage students to use the essay as an opportunity to tell a story that a reader would otherwise not know about them from reading their application,” Napoleone said. She might ask them: “What piece of you is the application missing? This is your opportunity to share that, and who you are, as a person.” 

“I think when we phrase it that way, a lot of students find it empowering. For many students, it shifts from being overwhelming or a burden to being something they can take complete control of during the college process,” she added. 

Within the first few weeks of the school year, it appeared that students were receptive to the idea of working with an essay specialist. Some asked Napoleone to apply a more critical eye to their work, while others might need a light edit, and more than one student who sought Napoleone’s counsel on their main essay returned to ask for help on their supplementals.

“It’s a balance between being student driven and being driven by the College Counseling Office. Every student’s essay is first reviewed by their college counselor and then it’s sent to me to review, but students get to determine the degree to which they want me to help,” she said, explaining that some students may just want to sit and talk about their ideas, while others ask her for more formal suggestions.

“We encourage students to take suggestions and apply them in a way that is authentic to them. We don’t have the answers, but we can help them dig to find their own answers,” she said.