“My name is Gene and I was recently admitted to Harvard University, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, and many more. From 7th grade through my senior year, I worked with Gabriel regularly. He was very impactful in my writing journey. Something that is unique about his teaching style was the way that he approached brainstorming and his approach to creative writing. A part of writing that I struggled with before meeting Gabriel was having an idea in my head that I could not put into words. Many times, I would sit and struggle with finding the right thing to say in my writing. Over several years, a strategy that Gabriel taught me that I still use in many of my writings today is to write everything that comes to mind and to emphasize the brainstorming before starting.

When completing creative writing projects with him, I was able to recognize how to enhance my writing through unique and non-conventional forms of figurative language that I would have previously not used because it was not something that was normalized through my formative education. I was able to come out of my shell and not be afraid to put my emotions and ideas into my writings. These lessons of being unapologetic and not holding back in what I wrote is something that was so helpful during my college application process. I felt I was a step up above other applicants because of my ability to talk about my true emotions and meticulously describe it in my writing — a skill that Gabriel and I honed throughout our lessons. This genuine sense in my writing was something that I did not learn until I studied under Gabriel. His writing lessons helped me to win numerous writing competitions including those with the PTA Reflections and the Carson McCuller competitions. I truly believe that Gabriel has had a great, positive impact on the way that I approach writing and has pushed me to become the creative writer I am today.”