This is the time of year when I disappear daily into my office and don’t emerge until late in the evening. What am I doing? Working on Zoom with high school seniors, who are writing their college essays; community college kids applying to their first choice universities for transfer; and college graduates applying to a variety of post-graduate programs in medicine, law, dentistry, occupation therapy, speech pathology, and more. In addition to personal statements, there are also supplemental essays to write for each school. These are shorter than the personal statements, but still important. Deadlines are now quickly approaching and with those deadlines, tension increases.

I am very lucky to always work with a respectful group of students. They are open to my guidance, write and rewrite as we go deeper, and do not crumble when I say, “We need to look at this paragraph one more time.” My goal is for them to leave with more than just a strong essay, but also with a clear awareness that they can write. They will, after all, be doing a lot of writing in the upcoming years. I also say to them that I want them to write an essay or personal statement that is so authentically them that when they can look back at it when they’re seventy, they’ll smile and say, “Oh, look. There I am right on the page when I was 18 or 22.”

Though the hours are long this time of year, the work has many rewards. I get to know these kids quite well over the time we’re together, particularly since they often write about their challenges. Also, I get to see the intelligence and kindness of this generation, which keeps me feeling hopeful about our world. Finally, I have the chance to help them fulfill a major dream in their lives: going to a university they’d hoped to attend or being accepted into a competitive graduate program. They keep me informed as they begin receiving acceptances, and their gratitude is both sweet and heartening. Many write me afterward and say, “I couldn’t have done this without you.” That is worth these late hours and a few tense moments along the way. That is called true job satisfaction.