Have you ever wondered who the “master writing instructor” is on our Maine Coast College Essay trip? Well, look no further! We wanted to take this time to highlight one of the people that makes our essay writing program such a wonderful and productive experience for our students. Leah Siviski came on board as our master writing instructor for the 2021 summer season and we’re so excited to have her expertise back again this summer for a second season with us!

Leah completed her undergraduate studies here in our Brunswick backyard at Bowdoin College, before making her way to Ziesar, Germany with the German-American Fulbright Commission. During her time as a Fulbright scholar, she honed her language teaching skills as an English teacher and once she returned to Maine after her stint in Germany, she swapped languages and taught German to middle school students.

Ever since her Fulbright, Leah has remained dedicated to teaching and working with students. Leah has been teaching here in the great state of Maine since 2007, first teaching English at Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine and now teaching a variety of classes at South Portland High School including Creative Writing, College Prep English, and Honors English. Outside of the traditional classroom setting, her extensive teaching resume includes time working with students with learning disabilities as well as working in one-on-one settings helping students prepare for the SATs and advising students at South Portland High on their college essays.

Not only does Leah have the extensive teaching credentials we just outlined, she has the education to back it up! Leah received her Masters in Education from the University of Southern Maine and most recently received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing (with a focus on the Fiction genre). That’s right – Leah’s a double master… impressive, if we do say so ourselves!

Outside of the classroom, Leah continues to share her love of books, reading, and teaching on her blog, Cracking the Canon, where she reviews books by authors who have typically been left out of the literary canon. You can check out her reviews and writings here.

Leah lives in South Portland with her husband, Joe, and with her son Roman, who will be starting kindergarten in the Fall (and maybe, someday, will join us on an Apogee trip of his own!).

We are looking forward to another great summer with Leah on the Maine coast!