DreamRoots College Consulting

Meg Murphy and Michael Curtin, co-founders of DreamRoots, are intuitive essay coaches who possess over 50 years’ combined teaching experience and a keen understanding of college admissions audiences.

Meg received her MA in English from Northwestern University and later taught English at Hinsdale Central High School. As an Associate Professor of English at DeVry University, Meg enjoys a dedicated following in her writing, public speaking, and career development courses. Meg most appreciates teaching high school juniors and seniors in the DeVry University Advantage Academy, a dual enrollment program through the Chicago Public Schools.

In 2020, Meg won the DeVry University Teaching and Learning CARE Award, which recognizes a faculty member for demonstrating above and beyond care for students leading to improved student outcomes. As well, Meg recently co-authored two essays, which were published in the American Education History Journal,  “Making the Impersonal, Personal: Remote Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” (2021) and “Finding Our Balancing: A Conversation about Returning to On-Site Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021-2022,"(2023).  

An empathetic and results-driven college consultant and essay coach for the past ten years, Meg has collaborated with hundreds of college applicants, helping them find their ideal fit in schools such as Colorado College, the University of Illinois, Notre Dame, NYU, and Tulane.

Michael received his MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College in Chicago. As a graduate student in the renowned John Schultz Story Workshop, he received the Associated Writers’ Program Intro Award for Non-Fiction.  

Michael’s 15 years of teaching creative writing, critical thinking, composition, and ESL has helped him become attuned to the strengths and needs of each individual.  Currently a Visiting Professor at DeVry University and Co-Director at Waypoint Tutoring Studio, Michael believes that teaching is about helping students find their voice and the platform to best express it. His prevailing goal at DreamRoots is to convey to college admissions departments who his students are and where they are headed. He has collaborated with students who now attend such prestigious colleges as Vanderbilt University, Harvey Mudd College, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rebecca received a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University, where she also worked extensively on the campus newspaper, The Tufts Daily, holding roles ranging from Managing Editor to Outreach Coordinator to Co-Chair of the Intentionality and Inclusivity Committee. She is now an editorial event producer at Fast Company, where she also writes and reports. You can find additional work of hers in outlets including Inc. Magazine, Rewire News Group, and Callaway Climate Insights. In her free time she loves reading, running, and trying out new recipes in her tiny New York City apartment kitchen.

Rebecca is passionate about helping people tell their stories — she’s grateful to have the opportunity not only to do so through her reporting, but also through working as a writing coach. She deeply enjoys helping students articulate their ambitions, ideas, and interests.

Nancy attended the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana where she majored in Speech, English, and Theater. She spent several years involved in the Chicago area theatre community including being a founding member/director of a theatre company still thriving today. 

However, her true passion was in teaching.  She eventually switched careers and acquired a master's degree in English Education from St. Xavier University. She taught high school English, speech, and journalism while also coaching the speech team and running the school newspaper.  For 10 years, she also worked for a test preparation company as a teacher and supervisor helping high school students improve their PSAT and ACT scores. A little more than a decade ago, she started teaching English at DeVry University with a heavy concentration in writing courses.  She has been teaching English and humanities courses for over 25 years.

The best part about being a teacher for Nancy is being able to make a difference in the futures of the thousands of students with whom she has had the pleasure to work. 

Grace received her B.A. in American Studies and Journalism from Georgetown University where, in addition to her studies, she worked extensively as an editor and podcast producer for Georgetown’s newspaper, The Hoya. Grace currently works as an assistant editor at The Atlantic, where she writes and produces content across the publication's social media platforms. Previously, Grace has worked with publications including The Financial Times, Fast Company, and Cruising World. In her free time, she is an avid explorer of the outdoors and can often be found skiing, hiking, or camping. 

Grace is most excited about working with students to think of their writing as an iterative process. Stemming from her academic background in research, memoirs, and creative-nonfiction, she strives to coach her students to identify the ways in which the written word can best articulate their ideas and aspirations. 

Tracy earned her B.S. in journalism from the University of Florida, minoring in English, and her master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She has spent the last two decades writing for nonprofits and businesses, including advertisement and editorial copy, press releases, and grant proposal writing. 

Most recently, she completed classes on teaching students effective college essay writing through UCLA and attended the 2024 Independent Educational Consultant Association’s Summer Training Institute, covering topics on college essays and effective counseling strategies. She is a WOW Certified Essay Coach and a member of the Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling.

Passionate about making a positive impact, Tracy works with students to find their authentic voice through writing workshops. She helps them brainstorm, explore the difference between private and personal essays, and navigate vulnerability. Her willingness to try different approaches means every student finds their angle, no matter where they start.   

In his twenty two years as a teacher, Kevin has taught thousands of children and adults in all aspects of the English language.  He has helped Korean children speak their first English sentences, American adults improve their reading comprehension, and college-bound teens discover their voices. TESOL/TESL/TEFL certified, Kevin has taught ESL for fifteen years. He has also spent the past seven years as an ACT/SAT tutor and a college essay writing coach. Prior to that, Kevin taught for The Institute of Reading Development, working from coast to coast to improve literacy and instill a love of books.

In addition to being a teacher, Kevin is also an award-winning writer and musician, having received his Bachelor's in English with a Focus in Creative Writing from Columbia College. He has always felt a passion for language and communication – a passion he brings to every one of his classes. Whether it’s in a classroom or in one-on-one tutoring, he fosters a comfortable yet energetic environment where his students feel engaged, challenged, and free to take chances. Or, as one of his students said of him, he strives to “encourage, entertain, and, most important, inspire.”

Everyone has stories, and Deb’s teaching mission is to help folks of all backgrounds find their voices and tell the stories only they can tell.

Deb received her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College in Chicago. She tutored and taught there for seventeen years using the John Schultz Story Workshop Method, trained tutors, and served briefly on the department’s curriculum committee. She’s had the deep pleasure of teaching community engagement and education classes for the Goodman Theatre for the past decade. As a 2nd Story company member, she’s a strong believer in the power of story to create and sustain community.

Deb’s writing and storytelling have been featured at Fillet of Solo, Gumbo Fiction Salon, Next Theatre, Hypertext Magazine, Chicago Literati, Cellstories.net, Gertrude, Criminal Class Review, F Magazine, Hair Trigger, and many others. Her writing has appeared in a couple anthologies—Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck: A 2nd Story Anthology (Elephant Rock Books) and Windy City Queer: LGBTQ Dispatches from the Third Coast (U of Wisconsin Press)—and she has received a Pushcart nomination.

Jeremy earned his PhD in English from the University of Iowa, following an MA in the humanities from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in political science (highest honors) from the University of California, Davis, where he won the Annual Clyde Jacobs and Larry Peterman Distinguished Scholar Award for his research on Russian energy coercion. He has extensive college-level teaching experience in composition and literature, having served as an instructor at the University of Iowa and other institutions. In recognition of his teaching excellence, Jeremy received the W.R. Irwin Award for Excellence in Teaching General Education Literature in 2020.

Jeremy is also an award-winning essayist with publications in academic journals like Poetics Today, Modernism/modernity, and the Journal of Literature and Trauma Studies. He is currently writing his first book, which explores the impact that innovations in sound recording and broadcasting technologies had on the composition and performance of autobiographical lyric poetry in the twentieth century.

Through his work at DreamRoots, Jeremy continues to work closely with students, leveraging his expertise in literature and composition to attune them to the nuances of college-level essay writing. He treasures every opportunity to empower students on the page, helping them pursue the colleges and universities of their dreams and their aspirations far beyond.

As a lawyer and former litigator, Suzanne has dedicated her career to crafting compelling communication and asking insightful questions to uncover the essence of each matter. She is thrilled to leverage those skills to help students reveal and tell their own stories.

Suzanne earned her J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and B.S. in Political Science from Tufts University. She spent many years as a law firm partner before transitioning to in-house counsel roles for corporations. Her experience in communicating with diverse audiences, including juries, judges, and clients has honed her ability to select the right words and style for each unique situation and audience. Suzanne loves working with teens and saw the growth of her children through the college application process. Her communication skills, calm demeanor, humor, and organization will help students navigate the process effectively and with less stress.