Support The Library Foundation

College Essay Writing Workshop

Posted: 22 July 2025

Are you a high school student with college on your mind?

Over the course of this five-day online workshop, high school students will move through a generative writing process that guides them through brainstorming, drafting, and revising college application essays. By the end of the week, each student will have studied the craft of the personal essay and other elements of nonfiction. Students will leave camp with complete essay drafts and a revision roadmap for how to polish and customize these drafts for their college applications. 

Students will also be joined by Yvonne Espinoza, CEP, an experienced and highly regarded college counselor based in Austin who offers highly personalized guidance to students locally and across the country. With over 23 years as a full-time college counselor, Yvonne has supported hundreds of students and families in gaining access to a meaningful pre-college experiences, college admissions, and scholarship opportunities through her individualized approach to college advising. Learn more about Yvonne: https://www.yespicollegecounseling.com/

ADDITIONAL INFO: 

– These workshops will require participants to have access to Zoom and Google Drive. 

– Each student will be assigned a Google Drive folder where they can upload their work for additional instructor feedback and communication. 

– Class times are listed in the Central Time Zone

– This program runs for one week, Monday through Friday. Registration covers this entire one week period. There are no drop-in options or prorated rates. 

Share This:

Stay in Touch

Stay updated on our ongoing community programs and events, latest library news and more by signing up for our monthly newsletter

Jena Stude

Interim Treasurer

Jena Stude is Vice President of Development at Good + West Residential. Prior to joining Good + West in 2021, Jena was an Investment Manager at Blueprint Local, a real estate private equity firm, overseeing direct real estate investments in Texas. Before Blueprint Local, Jena was an Associate Director at the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) from 2013-2019. Jena previously held similar positions at Ascension Health, a large non-profit hospital system based in St. Louis, Missouri and the University of Arizona Investment Office. Jena holds a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Finance from the University of Arizona.

Frank Livaudais

Board Vice President

Frank Livaudais is also Vice President of Enterprise Engineering for Cloudflare, an internet security company in downtown Austin. An avid runner and reader, he has run more than 250 marathons (including races in all 50 U.S. states, six countries, and four continents). Frank tries to read 100+ books a year. He lives in Austin with his wife Shelley, son Christopher and one fairly naughty vizsla.

Tom Oney

Board President

Tom Oney is Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President of External Affairs for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). He oversees LCRA’s Human Resources team and all of LCRA’s public-facing and advocacy functions, including Communications, Community Resources, Environmental Affairs, Public Affairs, and Regulatory Affairs. Tom also advocates before the Texas Legislature on behalf of LCRA and led LCRA’s public policy team during the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 Texas legislative sessions.

Tom was born and raised in Waco, Texas, and received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Baylor University in 1996. He received his Juris Doctor cum laude from Tulane University School of Law in 1999. Tom currently represents LCRA on the board of directors of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas and serves as president of the board of directors of both the Austin Library Foundation and Green Doors, an award-winning non-profit benefiting homeless people in Central Texas.