I found Marisa's writing workshop when I was craving structure and reintegrating creative…read moreexpression into my daily life. I found both. Inspired by Marisa's dedication and encouragement, I once again began to write and meditate daily and reconnected to a creative flow that I was missing. I'm grateful for the rigor she brought to each meeting. In addition to the well planned arch of each class, and the workshop as a whole, Marisa did an incredible job of offering 4-5 writing practices between sessions to give us a range of options to keep us engaged. Two months after her workshop ended, I committed to writing a book and am drawing on material produced in her class. If you are looking for a teacher that integrates mindfulness and embodiment into the class exercises, you've found her. :)

Working with Marisa one-on-one was an exciting, clarifying, and empowering experience…read more The wonderful suggestions she made for strengthening my work were always preceded by a plethora of caring and well-thought-out observations of the good things already evident there. Her ideas also felt like they never limited my choices, but rather served to shine a light on different possible avenues I could take in my revisions and future projects. She pointed out what was well-written without sparing me the rigor of a professional-grade critique of how my underlying goals might be served even better. We clarified my goals and intentions together, in an atmosphere of trust and good will. I was struck by how Marisa flows from one point to the next during discussions--her mind moves in ways that are consistently smooth, smart, and profoundly respectful of the work. The way she approached my work (and myself as its author) made richly evident the skills she developed during her years as an MFA student at the prestigious University of Iowa Writing Workshops. Marisa helped me to tackle technically challenging structural and thematic dimensions of my work as well as managing to allow me simply to hear and to embrace my writing voice more fully. She offered suggestions of craft books to read that would further support my writing process. Without giving me inflated expectations, she inspired me to pursue an MFA of my own, which I begin this year! Moving forward in my writing life, I feel I have been blessed, empowered, and expertly guided toward greater growth, fulfillment, and success.

We had an excellent experience with StrivePath. Sunny and Jenny gave great advice and counsel as…read moreour son was navigating college football recruiting. With Jenny being a former college athlete, she provided insight and helped us with messaging/approach across the different coaches our son interacted with during the process. They were also diligent and we could tell they genuinely cared about our son. StrivePath was worth every dollar we spent--this company is really professional in its approach but more importantly personable. I give them my highest recommendation.

My 11 year old son "hates" writing... unfortunately he wasn't getting enough guidance and…read moreinstruction at school and so I enrolled him in this BAWP weekly program for kids in Berkeley. It was a 10 week course, 2 hours per week. At first, he was very grumpy with the concept and angry at me for enrolling him. After two weeks, however, I witnessed an amazing transformation. His confidence in his writing increased exponentially and his enthusiasm for writing followed suit. He actually said he enjoyed the program and the various writing exercises and games they used to help each child expand their abilities. The group used many different tactics to draw the student's' interest and encourage creativity. One week the group walked to a nearby museum and were asked to write about a piece of art that inspired them. They also took a walking tour the neighborhood to find inspiration for stories and poems. I can't say enough good things about this program and the Berkeley instructors. For "graduation" each child was asked to read an excerpt of their work for parents and friends. It was amazing! The instructors were kind, enthusiastic and incredibly talented teachers. Both were life-long writers and both clearly loved to work with young people. Overall, it was an incredibly positive experience and I will be looking for more camps and programs from BAWP in the future.

BAWP San Ramon Staff is kind. The high school campus is nice and safe for kids…read more However, this is NOT an enrichment program for kids, it is just a summer kid fun, 3-hour daycare. They group 3 levels "6+7+8" into groups in the library; the higher levels actually gain nothing during the 3 weeks, just "poem and craft book". The tuition is $500 plus $50 registration fee. On the first day of school this year, a teacher asked all parents if any students here today attended last summer BAWP program? Absolutely NO one showed hand! Thank you.

Mary Rakow is top notch in her editing and insight. She took on my manuscript and provided me with…read moreprompt, succinct suggestions and positive commentary. I am further motivated to revise and improve my story in new ways.

PLEASE NOTE! A WORD OF CAUTION FOR POTENTIAL CLIENTS: Barbara talks a lot about how much your…read morechild's story means in their applications, but her actions while editing my child's essays speak volumes about her capabilities and false pretenses about loving students. When my child would come to her with heartfelt essays about her experiences and hopes for the future, Barbara would brutally slash up my child's essays until they were bare boned. No story, no flair, no emotion, nothing. Not to mention Barbara also told my child that her essays were "terrible" or that she should not apply at all. Those same essays, without any edits, got her into incredibly competitive schools in and out of state. She also edits the essays in FRONT of my child right before they meet. She wouldn't spend time to thoroughly edit the essays beforehand despite asking for them a week in advance. To top it all off, Barabra is phenomenally bad at making good on her scheduling appointments and will force you to sign a multi-thousand dollar contract, to lock you in. She has made appointments with my child multiple times and then proceeded to cancel last minute because she double booked, or would force my child to wait.

The college process is truly daunting. Barbara helped us to break it down into manageable steps,…read moreworking with my twins from their sophomore year in high school through to the end of the application process. Notable points for twins: she works with each child separately, drawing out their specific interests and talents with regular one-on-one meetings. If they don't really know what they are interested in or they are interested in many different things (normal for a teenager!) she helps them figure it out so that by senior year they have a real portfolio of volunteer and community activities, internships, research projects and leadership experiences that they can use to clarify their interests and to get into excellent colleges! She is very honest and direct, while at the same time enjoying the kids' unique strengths and opportunities for laughs that come along the way. She helps them pick out schools that fit their characters and helps them streamline the process as much as is humanly possible for such a high-stakes venture. Thanks so much, Barbara!

This Tutoring place has fantastic tutors and we owe them a lot of gratitude for the last 9 years…read morefor our daughters success.

There are truly no words that fully convey what Michaela did for my daughter during her high school…read moreyears. She stared working with Michaela early on as a writing instructor and coach. She helped my daughter with her entries for numerous writing competitions, including the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, for which she won gold and silver medals over multiple years. She then helped with college essays and planning. I cannot recommend her highly enough! She became an advisor and artistic guide. My daughter's high school fulfilling writing journey was truly made possible with Michaela's support and guidance!

Michaela is great with my 6th and 8th graders who have been working with her this year, including…read moreon my 8th grader's high school applications. They genuinely enjoy the sessions with her (and they're not usually the type to want to do anything "extra"). Michaela makes it fun and not intimidating which is key for my kids and probably a lot of other younger students out there. Our family is so glad to have found Michaela!

I cannot recommend Karen-Meredith enough as a reading/writing tutor. She has been tutoring our…read moreelementary-school aged son consistently for 4 years and his been the reason he has been successful in language arts, even with dyslexia and ADD. She created a strong foundation of reading and writing habits early on with him and has continued to deliver progress. She does an incredible job of making sure the work is engaging, rewarding, and delivering significant growth. Our son loves spending time with Karen-Meredith, even when the work itself is hard. We feel so fortunate to have her supporting us!

Karen-Meredith helped my daughter prepare for the high school placement test (HSPT) last Fall. My…read moredaughter had never taken any standardized test and was a little apprehensive about the whole process. Karen-Meredith made my daughter comfortable, built up her confidence, and offered her invaluable tips and tricks. I wish I had that kind of help! Based on her test results and academic record, my daughter was accepted at one of the top schools in the City and placed in their Honors English program. More importantly, my daughter is more confident and will be ready for the college standardized tests in a few years. We'll be reaching out to Karen-Meredith for that when the time comes! Highly recommend.