Devin Boulanger, Story Editor
As November 1 nears, seniors are scrambling to complete their college applications, including a wide range of supplemental essays. To help them manage the task, NCHS English teachers Kristen Brown and Robert Darken held a workshop on September 18 in the Wagner Room to brainstorm personal ideas for the four main types of supplemental essays.
In past years, there has been an online seminar for students; however, this year is the first year that the workshop is in person. “I think there is a different energy when seniors will be in the Wagner Room together, learning from one another, from their peers and sharing their thoughts,” Mr. Darken said.
The goal of this workshop is to provide guidance to students and help them start the process of writing. “We did some personal brainstorming for students,” Mr. Darken said. “So we had a healthy amount of time devoted to generating content about this. You need to put some time and effort into introspection and figuring out who you are and what you care about.”
This workshop was very impactful for the seniors who attended. “The workshop was really helpful for giving a better sense of the different types of essays that colleges tend to ask and also explaining different approaches to these more common prompts,” Delia Bakal said. “Also, being able to know your own interests, values, and experiences helps create a clearer direction for any of the prompts.”
For students who weren’t able to attend the workshop, and even for those who did attend, the Writing Center is available for feedback on any part of the college applications.
“The college essay workshop is the beginning of the process rather than the end of the process,” Mr. Darken said. “The next step is to bring your draft to the writing center. It is staffed the second half every period, there is always a teacher standing by to help.” make your essays better.”
