College Essay Workshop - SLS
For St. Luke's rising seniors*: This popular workshop is designed to help students craft the strongest possible college essays by providing focused instruction on both the Common App personal statement and supplemental essays.
Across the workshop’s three days, members of the SLS College Counseling team and Upper School faculty will guide students through a series of brainstorming and outlining activities, combining meaningful self-reflection with story development and structure. There will be group work, one-to-one interactions, and the opportunity to work with each instructor.
Following our morning sessions, students are welcome to remain on campus in the afternoons if they would like a quiet and conducive environment in which to write and workshop drafts with the College Counseling team.
*Note: While enrollment in this workshop is limited to SLS students, we offer a session open to students from the broader community later in June, and we are happy to assist students interested in potentially working with current and former members of the SLS faculty who provide individualized college essay support.
Please contact summer@stlukesct.org with questions regarding the workshop.
Across the workshop’s three days, members of the SLS College Counseling team and Upper School faculty will guide students through a series of brainstorming and outlining activities, combining meaningful self-reflection with story development and structure. There will be group work, one-to-one interactions, and the opportunity to work with each instructor.
Following our morning sessions, students are welcome to remain on campus in the afternoons if they would like a quiet and conducive environment in which to write and workshop drafts with the College Counseling team.
*Note: While enrollment in this workshop is limited to SLS students, we offer a session open to students from the broader community later in June, and we are happy to assist students interested in potentially working with current and former members of the SLS faculty who provide individualized college essay support.
Please contact summer@stlukesct.org with questions regarding the workshop.
Instructors:
Emily Allen
Sonia Bell
Alec Lebris
Hunter Martin
Stephen Vehslage
Stefanie Veneruso
Emily Allen
Sonia Bell
Alec Lebris
Hunter Martin
Stephen Vehslage
Stefanie Veneruso
June 9-11, 2025 - St. Luke's rising seniors only
9:00am - 12:00pm
COST: $325
St. Luke’s College Essay Workshop Faculty
Emily Allen
Emily Allen is an English teacher and Admissions Officer at St. Luke's School. In addition to her roles in the English and Admissions departments, Emily serves as a dean to the Class of 2026 and coaches Varsity Field Hockey and Varsity Boys Ice Hockey. Emily earned her undergraduate degree in Secondary Education from the University of Vermont and has a Master's Degree in Humanities from Wesleyan University.
Sonia Bell
Sonia Bell is Director of College Counseling and a member of the English faculty at St. Luke’s School. She holds a B.A. in English from Spelman College, an M.L.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and completed the coursework and comprehensive exams toward a doctorate in linguistics at the University of Georgia. Ms. Bell has also served as Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.
Alec Lebris
Alec LeBris is a member of the science faculty at St. Luke’s School and also serves as the 11th Grade Dean. He currently teaches Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, Honors Organic Chemistry, and acts as co-advisor to our STEM Scholars program. Prior to working at St. Luke's, Mr. LeBris was a high yield bond analyst at Chase Securities in Manhattan. He holds an A.B. in Biochemistry and Psychology from Bowdoin College and an M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Rhode Island where his research focused on physical organic chemistry.
Hunter Martin
Hunter Martin is a member of the faculty at St. Luke’s School, where he teaches Honors Modern World History and Advanced European History, and interdisciplinary senior electives. He leads St. Luke’s Summer Program and assists seniors with their college essays during the school year. Mr. Martin holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin, where his scholarship focused on the intellectual traditions and cultural politics of Europe during the twentieth century.
Stephen Vehslage
Stephen Vehslage is Associate Director of College Counseling at St. Luke's School, where he also teaches Advanced History electives in US Government & Politics. Before arriving at St. Luke's, Mr. Vehslage was a long-time member of the faculty at New Canaan High School. He holds a B.A. in English from Princeton University and a law degree from New York University School of Law. In addition, Mr. Vehslage is a graduate of the Teacher Preparation Program at Yale University, where he completed a course of studies in secondary education.
Stefanie Veneruso
Stefanie Veneruso is the Assistant Director of College Counseling at St. Luke’s School, where she also serves as an advisor and co-leads the Student Alumni Committee. She holds a B.A. in English from Villanova University and recently holds a certificate in college advising from Teachers College, Columbia University. Before working in college counseling, Stefanie worked in the St. Luke's Development Office for 10 years.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
