Finding "I" in the Admission Essay

Joan Campbell is director of the Merlyn’s Pen Mentors-in-Writing Program, serving families since 1994. Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth selects the program each year as a distance-learning option for high-achieving students. Joan holds a Masters in Education from Fairfield University, as well as numerous post-graduate credits in communication. She has been a writing instructor for approximately forty years. She’s taught in public-school classrooms in Wilton, Connecticut; directed five successful summer writing institutes; led teacher-training seminars; and run writing courses for Marist College and Western Connecticut State University. She has tutored young writers privately for the past decade.

 

When Joan isn’t mentoring, teaching, or editing, she enjoys reading, traveling, gardening, and watercolor painting. She is the mother of two grown children and lives with her husband, John, in Redding, Connecticut. You may sample one of her essays in the popular book, Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul.

 

Jo-Ann Langseth is former director of the Merlyn’s Pen Mentors-in-Writing Program (see above). She is also former senior editor of Merlyn’s Pen: The National Magazine of Student Writing (1985-2001), where she reviewed submissions, made final acceptance decisions with the publisher, and led more than a hundred students through revisions that led to national publication. During her tenure there, Merlyn’s Pen won the EDPRESS Golden Lamp Award for Instructional Materials.

 

As associate editor of Body, Mind & Spirit magazine (circ. 300,000), Jo-Ann edited and proofed all copy, suggested and wrote celebrity interviews (Thomas Moore, Ali MacGraw, Deepak Chopra) and articles featuring a range of alternative-health topics. Jo-Ann holds a B.A. degree in psychology and English from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and is currently an editor of books in self-help, spirituality, and business genres. She is the mother of three grown children and lives with her husband, Richard, near the shore of Narragansett Bay, in Rhode Island.

 

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