708: On Becoming: The Art and Craft of Personal Storytelling (Ep 7: Robes) with Andrew Callery

Hi, friends, and welcome back to our series, “On Becoming: The Art and Craft of Personal Storytelling.” In this series, we take a close look at personal essays written by real students, talking about why we love them, what makes them work, and how they came to be.  

In this episode, we share an essay that begins: “Robes are the textile version of comfort food; they’re my chicken noodle soup.” And it is indeed about the different robes the student wears and how each one reveals a different aspect of who the author is. 

I'm joined today by Andrew Callery, a college counselor at Detroit Country Day School who aside from his work helping his students tell their stories has, for the past 9 years, in his free time volunteered in our Matchlighters Scholars Program, where we pair high-achieving, low-income students with amazing counselors for 10 hours of free one-on-one support. If you are a high-achieving low-income student applying to college this year or are a counselor interested in volunteering, we’d love to have you.

 In today’s episode, Andrew and I get into: 

• Where this idea came from in the first place
• How the student chose which different sides of herself to focus on
• How students can briefly weave a learning difference into a single paragraph
• Two tips for sticking the landing when it comes to the ending of your personal statement

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys seeing how things get made, whether it’s a great meal, a film scene, or a piece of writing, I have a feeling you might enjoy this one.

Andrew Callery (he/him) is a graduate of Villanova University (B.A.) and the University of San Francisco (M.A.), where he studied Psychology with an emphasis in counseling. He’s worked in both public and private high schools as a counselor and loves helping students craft essays that are genuine reflections of their lived experience. He uses active listening techniques to help students uncover unique ideas for essays that capture various aspects of their identity, values, challenges overcome and lessons learned, all the while blending in a healthy dose of humor and empathy. Andrew has worked for a number of years as an admissions reader with a highly selective institution, and has read thousands of essays as a result. He's currently working as a full-time college counselor at an independent school near Detroit, where he lives with his wife and two children. 

Enjoy.

Play-by-Play:

• 2:47 – Andrew introduces the “robes” essay and the brainstorming exercise that inspired it.
• 4:41 – What are the benefits of brainstorming and “going broad” with early ideas?
• 5:57 – Andrew reads the essay, “Robes” 
• 11:26 – What stands out for Andrew in reading the essay today?
• 12:25 – How did Andrew help the student identify the core values and life experiences to include in her essay?
• 17:22 – How does a simple, relatable metaphor immediately ground the reader in the student's world?
• 19:40 – How did the student weave in her experience with dyslexia without making it the central focus of her essay?
• 23:17 – What questions can students ask themselves to turn a simple anecdote into a meaningful "so what" moment?
• 26:02 – How can students weave in extracurricular achievements without sounding like they are bragging?
• 31:35 – How can a student effectively balance personal interests with academic goals in an essay?
• 35:27 – How did the student’s love for thrifting from the 21 Details exercise become a metaphor for her interest in sustainable engineering?
• 39:28 – How can focusing on the future help a student find the right way to end their essay?
• 42:32 – What does Andew  enjoy most about working with students on essays?
• 44:16 – Closing thoughts

 

Resources:

• “Robes” essay 
• Admission Nutrients
• The Roles & Identities Exercise
• 21 Details Exercise 
• College Essay Guy’s Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy’s College Application Hub