As a college essay coach, Erik combines a genuine love of language with a process-based approach that utilizes writing as a technology for thinking. Through generative writing exercises, targeted feedback, and iterative drafting, Erik helps each student tell their story in their authentic voice. Having worked with a broad spectrum of students—from Ivy League-bound high school seniors to students in the juvenile justice system—Erik is an equity-minded educator committed to unlocking every student’s potential.

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Erik has worked, in various capacities, as an educator for over fifteen years. He is a Connecticut native, but his first English teaching job was at a middle school in Brooklyn, NY. As much as he loved New York City, Erik decided to relocate to Portland over a decade ago to pursue music more full-time. In between recording albums and touring, Erik worked as an academic mentor and curriculum developer with various organizations, including ESM Prep. In the fall of 2020, Erik returned to the classroom full-time as an English teacher at Riverdale High School, a small, public, college-focused institution in Portland. At Riverdale, Erik teaches core English courses, as well as a dual-enrollment composition course through Portland State University. This spring, Erik completed his training to teach IB language and literature. During his five years at the University of Connecticut, Erik double-majored in English and secondary English education. In that time, he also earned an MA in education from UConn’s Neag School of Education. More recently, he completed his MA in English from Portland State University. While at Portland State, he presented his scholarship at conferences in the United States and the United Kingdom and won the English department’s Philip Ford Graduate Award for best critical essay.

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When he’s not in the classroom, Erik is trying to fill in reading gaps. When he's not reading, he still enjoys picking up the guitar from time to time, spending time with his wife and friends, and whenever possible, getting out to a river to fly fish for trout.

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