Evan Forster: Forster-Thomas Educational Consulting

Telling stories is in Evan Forster’s DNA—he was writing personality profiles for magazines including New York and Details when he realized he wanted to help young people tell their own stories. “Communicating who you are through the written word is about the most awkward, intimidating thing many kids can ever think about. And college essays—what else gives families and students so much angst? It’s got to be up there with death and taxes.”

As an educational consultant, Evan quickly moved beyond storytelling to an under-served aspect of admission: leadership and extracurricular accomplishments. “Kids think they have to join, join, join,” he says. “I say, ‘lead, lead, lead.’” He invented the leadership action plan to help students structure and visualize how they can create change in the world around them, their world at school, or even at home. That’s what inspired him to practice what he preaches and create Essay Busters, which helps under-served students to write, using the college personal statement as a tool. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and earned two MFAs from UCLA.

For more information, please visit Forster-Thomas Educational Consulting.