Writing Consultants

The students below have been selected as writing consultants not only on the basis of their writing, but because they are friendly, patient, and helpful by nature. If you are enrolled in a humanities course, feel free to contact one via e-mail—their e-addresses are below. (If you are not in a humanities course, go here.)

Please do not request help from more than one writing consultant. And if you make arrangements for a tutoring session, it is important to keep your appointment (or let the consultant know if you must change it).

Not sure who to ask?  Instead, let us know and we will put someone in touch with you.  

If you have questions or concerns about the Humanities Writing Center, contact Dr. Ron Levy at rlevy@peabody.jhu.edu

Andrew Posner

Andrew Posner is a second-year undergraduate composer studying with Dr. Kevin Puts. In addition to his musical studies, he enjoys writing humorous autobiographical short stories and persuasive essays and dedicates himself to strengthening his own creative process and that of his peers and friends. Although most of his tutoring experience has involved working with students to improve expository writing, please feel welcome to contact him for any sort of writing help at andrewjp13@hotmail.com.

Elizabeth Kerstein

Elizabeth Kerstein is a mezzo-soprano in her second year as a MM Opera student at Peabody. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she attended St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where she earned a BM in Voice Performance, worked as a writing tutor, and experienced -30 degree winters.  To balance the great deal of time she spent studying music in undergrad, she devoted much of her education to studying religion, literature, and German. Feel free to approach her with a paper in any subject, as she would love to help you tackle your papers and develop your own writer’s voice! To schedule an appointment with Elizabeth, contact by email at ekerste2@jhu.edu.

Peggy Houng

Peggy is a second-year harpist pursuing a B.M. in Harp Performance under the instruction of Dr. Ruth Inglefield. She is also a double degree student studying cognitive science at the Johns Hopkins University. Peggy lives on campus and spends most of her time out of class in her room practicing, studying, and/or eating. She can speak a bit of Mandarin Chinese, so if you're a Chinese-speaker Peggy can attempt to help you in Chinese. She loves to work with people, so if you ever need any help with your writing assignments, feel free to email her at peggy.houng@gmail.com with any questions.

Joelle Arnhold

Joelle Arnhold is currently a second year MM student in Vicky Chiang’s studio.  Though mostly occupied with practicing, she has also been known to eat, occasionally cooking the food beforehand, but not always.  Many moons ago, Joelle studied at a liberal arts university where her brain was often caught in the middle of intense labor, and, over the years, gave birth to many healthy papers.  One time she ran a mile in 6’47’’ and has slept through several earthquakes.  In her spare time, Joelle tries very hard to like green tea. 

Please email her at jarnhol1@jhmi.edu to talk about developing ideas or improving your writing at any stage in the process—it is really one of her favorite things to do.

Toby Morris

After finishing his BM in cello performance last May, Toby Morris is back at Peabody to begin work on a Master degree under the tutelage of Alan Stepansky. Originally from sunny southern California, Tobby's hobbies and interests include watching art films and learning about cinema history, as well as furthering his collection of historical recordings (in particular, performances of the Wagner operas). For the past four years he has been studying baroque cello and viola da gamba with John Moran, and is an avid member of the Peabody Viol Consort. Outside of school Toby enjoys traveling, teaching private lessons and playing as much chamber music as he can lay his hands on! Toby enjoys working with others, and would be happy to help with your writing projects this school year. Contact him at toby.morr@gmail.com to arrange a meeting.

Cody Raum

A champion of new music, Cody Raum began his musical studies at ten, studying the double bass privately with Lynn Fleming. He now attends the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University pursuing a Bachelor’s certificate in Double Bass Performance, studies with Jeffrey Wesiner. Cody plans to complete his work in Baltimore in 2014 with Dr. Vern C. Falby earning a Master’s Diploma in Music Theory Pedagogy; his Master’s thesis will include in-depth analyses of György Ligeti’s Piano Études.  That's the official story; here's what's important:  Mr. Raum enjoys ländlers, chess, and soft cheeses, calls his mother regularly, and is an out-spoken advocate for the propagation of the oxford comma.  What's that?  Let Cody help you with this and other subtleties of masterful writing by scheduling a meeting with him for your humanities papers.  To schedule a meeting with Cody, send him a note at:  craum1@comcast.net.

Laura Whittenberger

Laura Whittenberger  is a soprano GPD student of Stanley Cornett, and currently works as the graduate assistant in the ESL department. Laura has been tutoring and teaching English for 6 years, having begun during her time at Indiana University, where she finished degrees in both English and Voice. Laura is certified to teach English as a second language, and enjoys working with international students. She lived and taught English for a year in Leipzig, Germany. Now she holds a position as an ESL instructor at Howard Community College and works in the Peabody Career Center. To her, being a musician and teaching writing are the two best jobs in the world. Laura has experience working with students in a wide array of fields, and would love to help you improve your writing assignments or projects. To schedule a meeting, please email: lwhitte2@jhu.edu.

Kathleen Schmidt

Kathleen Schmidt is in her first year at Peabody as a Master's candidate in early music voice.  Before attending Peabody, she worked for three years at the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver as a local author liaison, screening authors' books before accepting them to be sold on consignment in the store.  She holds a Bachelor's degree in history from the Colorado College, where she minored in music.  At Colorado College, her study of history focused on medieval Europe, American Indians, and American immigration.  Colorado College also provided her with a strong background in German language and literature, ethnomusicology, women's studies, linguistics, and experimental music.  Kathleen can employ her professional experience in the non-profit and commercial sectors to assist with any writing for your Humanities classes at Peabody.  Kathleen spends her rare and precious free moments dreaming about the Colorado mountains, eating sushi (the spicier the better), passionately pontificating about political causes, smiling at unintentional alliterations, secretly editing her friends' Facebook statuses for grammar and spelling accuracy, and chasing that elusive Siren known as sleep.  To set up a time to check commas over coffee, please email her at kschmi24@jhu.edu.