About
About Write Strong Consulting:
Let’s face it: Writing can be tough! And that’s especially true when you’re the star of your own story.
Whether you’re applying to college or grad school… trying to get a great personal story out on paper… or even putting up an online bio, it can be scary to confront yourself on the blank page. You may not know the best way to toot your own horn, synthesize your life experiences and convey their meaning, or write in a way that makes you stand out from the crowd.
That’s where Write Strong Consulting comes in!
Write Strong Consulting empowers clients to reach a range of personal, academic, and professional goals through writing, with a focus on the art of the personal narrative — in other words, writing that’s directly about YOUR life experience. Your consultant, Rachel B. Levin, can expertly guide you in writing distinctive personal statements for university admissions, bios of yourself or your business, personal essays, correspondence, and much more. She can help at any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming and selecting ideas, to planning and outlining, to editing and polishing.
And while writing about yourself can seem like a daunting task, it’s actually a profoundly awesome way to gain personal insight, grow and heal from past wounds, and strategically manage your life. Discover the transformative and therapeutic possibilities of journaling and other forms of personal written expression with Write Strong Consulting.
– Gustave Flaubert
About Your Consultant, Rachel B. Levin:
Hello! I’m Rachel, and I’ve been a writing teacher and consultant for over two decades. I’ve successfully guided hundreds of individuals along their writing journeys.
An honors graduate of Stanford University in Psychology, I earned master’s degrees in both English and Creative Nonfiction Writing from the University of Southern California. I’m captivated by the connections between literature, writing, and the self, and I draw on this interdisciplinary background to help clients discover and tell their most meaningful stories.
I completed training with the Center for Journal Therapy and am a Certified Instructor of JOURNAL TO THE SELF® Workshops, which I currently teach at PCC Extension at Pasadena City College. I am also a Certified Journal Facilitator trainee at the Therapeutic Writing Institute.
Previously, I’ve taught college-level courses in composition, critical thinking, creative writing, and cultural studies at the University of Southern California (USC), California State University Los Angeles, and Los Angeles City College (LACC). I’ve also co-directed the Writing Center at LACC and served as a faculty consultant both there and in the Writing Center at USC. Additionally, I’ve served as a National Writing Project Fellow affiliated with the Los Angeles Writing Project.
Aside from consulting with a diverse array of writers, I also work as a professional journalist and editor. My writing has appeared in nationally recognized publications including the Los Angeles Times, Travel+Leisure, Time Out, the Travel Channel, and Southwest Airlines’ magazine. You can learn more at www.rachelbethlevin.com.
I live in Pasadena, California, with my insane tabby cat, Mateo. When I’m not tapping away at my keyboard, you’ll find me hiking the local trails, dancing to salsa and hip hop, and whipping up healthy gourmet meals.
– Anais Nin
The Write Strong Consulting Story
I started Write Strong Consulting in 2007 when I figured out that I had a passion (and a knack) for listening to people’s stories and turning them into compelling written narratives. When the company first began, I focused exclusively on personal statements for college and graduate school admissions. That made sense at the time because I was teaching writing at multiple colleges and, as a graduate of Stanford and USC, knew a thing or two about how to gain entrance into elite institutions of higher learning.
But as my client roster expanded and my own journalism career bloomed, the scope of my services began to broaden. Clients whom I’d helped get into medical school wanted help writing statements to land residencies in their specialty of choice. Others whom I’d helped get into business school began entrepreneurial ventures and asked me for help writing their bios and other copy for their websites. They referred me to friends, colleagues, and family members who needed help writing about themselves for everything from fellowships and scholarships to citizenship and job applications. And then I began to attract clients who wanted assistance with even more personal forms of writing, including online dating profiles and book-length memoirs.
My amazing clients have led the evolution of Write Strong Consulting from an academic service to a service that empowers them to reach a range of personal and professional goals through writing. The unifying umbrella is writing about the SELF, an insight that led me to begin offering help with a deeper form of expressive writing: journaling. I’ve written in my journal nightly for the past 20 years and know it to be an incredible tool for personal growth.
In this next iteration of Write Strong Consulting, I’m looking forward to helping clients explore not just their outward goals but also their inner lives through Journal to the Self® workshops and other journal facilitation services. I truly believe writing makes us stronger!