College application season is upon us, and many high school seniors can feel overwhelmed by the process, especially when it comes to writing essays.

Local educator Andrea Juskaitis, Sky Blue College and Academic Coaching director, wants to help. So she’s hosting two separate essay workshops, running from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, November 2, and Saturday, December 7, in Decode the test office at 762B Prospector Ave. For registration information, call 435-640-1981.

The workshops are designed to help seniors in college perfect their college and supplemental essays for early decision and regular deadlines.

Students can choose which workshop they want to attend because they will essentially be imparting the same information, according to Juskaitis.

“Students can come with any level of essay — a very rough draft or ideas that haven’t been written into an essay yet,” she said. “I can also help them come up with ideas because I’m here to help them with the whole process.”

The workshops will include lots of interactive, individual essays, and students must bring their own laptops, Juskaitis said.

“My goal is to see many of these students feel like they have a final, polished essay by the end of the two-hour session,” she said. “With some, depending on where they were when they came in, I’d like to see them leave the session feeling like they’re on the right track and able to finish writing a great essay.”

Juskaitis charges $50 for two hours, which can be paid via Zelle or Venmo when students arrive for a session.

“If the students need extra time to work with me, then the $50 will go toward more one-on-one instruction,” she said.

Juskaitis decided to host these workshops because of college application deadlines.

There are different categories of application deadlines — Early Action and Early Decision, according to Juskaitis.

Early Action applications are non-mandatory, meaning students are not required to apply to a college that has accepted them, while Early Decision applications are mandatory, meaning students must apply to the college, she said.

The next deadline is Nov. 15, and that’s early action for some schools, Juskaitis said.

“Then there are the Dec. 1 and Dec. 15 deadlines, and many of the colleges these students are applying to require one or two additional essays to go along with the main essay,” she said. “I already have students and parents calling me at the last minute, worrying about deadlines. They tell me they feel overwhelmed when asked to write multiple essays and want a little help.”

Workshops will be held at Decode the Test, founded by Rebecca Tibbits, a local educator and business owner.

“Rebecca and I worked together at the Winter Sports School, and she especially got into the test-taking side,” Juskaitis said. “Test Decoding Helps Students Prepare for the SAT and ACT.”

Juskaitis is no stranger to working with high school students. He just finished teaching 29 years of AP Literature and AP English.

“I started my career at Park City High School and taught there for 15 years,” she said. “I also worked at a private school in California where I worked very closely with college counseling departments on how to write college admissions essays, which are much different than writing an analysis essay. Then I moved to Colorado and did the same thing.”

When Juskaitis moved back to Park City, he wanted to start his own business that would allow him to work with students on the college application process.

“I have a lot of career advice and I love taking students through things like that,” she said. “I want to help them experience the joy and feel proud of having finished a product that highlights their characteristics and personalities. And I want to bring that to the Park City community and even to the students at South Summit and North Summit high schools and the Winter Sports School.”

Juskaitis’ interest in education began when he first moved to Park City years ago.

“I started coaching the high school girls soccer team, and as a result, I discovered that I loved working and interacting with students,” she said. “Then one day one of the students, a football player, said I should think about teaching.”

Fresh out of college, Juskaitis decided to try her hand at substitute teaching at the high school and Treasure Mountain Middle School, which is now Treasure Mountain Junior High.

“I realized I liked to substitute so I went to Westminster College, which is now the University of Westminster, and got my teaching credential,” she said. “I also got a master’s degree in education.”

Juskaitis got a job at Park City High School as a Spanish teacher.

“I started this first because I’m good at the language,” she said. “Then I applied to teach English full-time and I also taught journalism there. So, I came up with the idea of ​​loving how to teach writing by being an English teacher.”

Juskaitis, who holds credentials in every college counseling program in the nation, still enjoys coaching football and finished one season in Colorado before moving back to Park City a few months ago.

“It’s definitely in my blood to be some kind of coach — a soccer coach or a writing coach,” she said.

College Application Essay Workshops hosted by Sky Blue College and Academic Coaching

• When: 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, November 2 and Saturday, December 7
• Where: Decode Testing Office at 762B Prospector Ave.
• Cost: $50 per session
• Phone: 435-640-1981
• Web: skybluecoaching.com