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 A Little Obsession Can Be a Good Thing
I owe my solid foundation in English grammar and composition to the nuns who taught at my parish elementary school, where spelling bees, grammar drills, and
sentence-diagramming marathons assumed near-Olympic proportions. Their insistence on strict classroom order and constant attention to detail helped elevate
my genetic tendency to check and re-check into a true art form. After graduating summa cum laude from Manhattan College, I held "real" jobs in the New York metro
area before trading my corporate cubicle for a home office. In both workplace scenarios, I have worked with executives who delegate editing tasks to others, suffer
from dyslexia, speak English as a second language, or simply lack the time or inclination to worry about the finer points of writing.
Since 1987, I have been a partner in a successful consulting practice that specializes in the needs of the publishing, graphic arts, and media industries. Satisfied clients have included Apple,
Hewlett-Packard, Kodak, 3M, and Xerox, among many others. I have extensive experience in making the written word clear, concise, and readable for a wide variety of audiences. I have helped my associates look better in print for
years.I can do the same for you.
My Son, the Scholarship Recipient
Not long after my son entered the K-12 system, I realized that the teaching of written language skills as I knew them
had gone the way of the "old math." I often found myself acting as his surrogate English teacher, explaining the finer points of grammar when reviewing a term paper he had written or a PowerPoint presentation he had developed.
Similar teaching moments arose when he began to study Spanish. Trust me: if a student has not mastered English grammar, he or she will be equally stumped when it comes to acquiring a new language. My son has an outstanding
command of oral and written English, and learning Spanish was less perplexing for him than it was for many of his classmates. Even he will admit that he owes a measure of his academic success to my influence, instruction, and
constant nagging. Such a good son!
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