Sarah Mason
Hi there!
Glad you dropped in! I’ll cut right to the chase: I’m a words person. As my husband likes to tease me, “words, words, words.” It’s my goal to help you optimize your communication & self-expression – out loud and on paper.
Sarah Mason
Hi there!
Glad you dropped in! I’ll cut right to the chase: I’m a words person. As my husband likes to tease me, “words, words, words.” It’s my goal to help you optimize your communication & self-expression – out loud and on paper.
I’m a doctor of language.
So what does that mean, exactly?
You can give me a call if you have any pressing language emergencies. I earned my doctorate in English at Northwestern University, and I’ve devoted my whole professional life to language. Language and education and people. I spent six years getting that PhD, so I’ve spent a lot of time studying the greats: Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf… (I could go on.)
With all this time studying language, you know what I’ve really homed in on? The art of self-expression. There’s no better vehicle than language for sharing who you are and reaching out for what you want—especially if you learn to wield your words in the clearest and most inspiring way possible.
And that’s where I come in. I absolutely love helping others find their way to that perfect combination of words. The “yes! That’s what I was trying to say!” moment? I live for it.
“ Hit the Jackpot! If you’re like me and haven’t written an essay since college, you ABSOLUTELY NEED Sarah on your team! She is literally a MASTER of the English language and is able to take your thoughts, analyze them, and convey them better than anyone I have ever worked with to date.”
– Class of 2022 Admit
Can you elaborate a little more? What’s your background?
Sure! Here’s a collection of my greatest hits:
Education:
- Ph.D., English, Northwestern University
- M.A., English, Northwestern University
- B.A., English honors & History, The University of Texas at Austin
Places I’ve worked:
- The University of Texas at Austin, Sr. Advisor
I’m an educator at heart – something I have in common with everyone on the Career Protocol team – so I found my way back to my alma mater in 2020 and worked as an advisor for undergraduates in the College of Liberal Arts. I also coordinated the senior thesis process for a top interdisciplinary honors program. Supporting students as they crafted their 60+-page capstone projects was an absolute joy.
- Northwestern University, Instructor
At Northwestern, I taught ENG 105: Expository Writing, which (you guessed it!) is all about writing composition. I guided students through the growing pains of writing—and, even more importantly, revising—for everything from personal narratives and persuasive essays to research papers. I also led weekly discussion sections and graded essays for English courses like Introduction to Fiction (my personal fav!), British Literary Traditions, and American Literary Traditions. For all things writing: I’ve got you!
- Collin College Writing Center, Writing Consultant
Our theme continues! As a writing consultant for Collin College, I helped students of all ages and backgrounds strengthen and revise their writing. I spent a lot of time with Collin College’s many international students and non-native English speakers and loved every minute of it!
Oooh, so you’re like a professor! Does that mean my work will come back covered in red?
I focus on three main things in your writing:
- Authenticity: Does it sound like you? Do I get a sense of who you are, in all your uniqueness, by reading your materials? Or does it ring hollow because you’re trying to fit a mold or sound like someone else?
- Clarity: Do your voice and meaning shine through, or am I too busy trying to figure out what the heck you’re saying to even listen? Can I follow where you lead, or am I so lost in a maze of convoluted sentences that I don’t know which way is up?
- Vibrancy: Do your words reach out from the page? Am I caught up in the vividness, aliveness, and realness of your narrative? Do I feel the ups and the downs with you? Do I care about what you’re saying?
As Angela (and her book!) will tell you, this is all part of good storytelling. And if we’ve done our work together well, you’ll knock this out of the park! And not just in your job materials or application essays – the skill of self-expression will be yours forever.
“Without Sarah’s guidance and Career Protocol’s resources, I would have been overwhelmed by the grueling MBA application process and probably have submitted weak applications. With Sarah’s help, I secured an interview with 4 of the 5 programs I applied to and got admitted to Wharton and MIT.”
– Class of 2022 Admit
Bottom line: I’m not here to line edit. While I do know my semicolon from my period, I don’t fixate on grammar. I’ll help you make sure the finished product is polished and professional, but I’m really here to help you tap into your own voice and style.
Years of working with students at every imaginable stage of development makes me uniquely equipped to meet you wherever you are. Whether you love writing about yourself or avoid it with the deepest dread, whether you’re a word whiz or frequently fumbling, whether English is your first language or not, together we’ll tone that storytelling muscle and hone your personal voice. Before you know it, you’ll be expressing yourself so fully that you’ll inspire and connect with everyone you meet. And that’s a pretty rare skill!!
But you don’t exactly have a business background… should I be worried about that?
I may not hail from the world of business, but I have a decade of experience in higher education and a vested interest in helping clients reach their potential. It’s my absolute passion. Subject material can be learned; passions can’t.
Here’s a secret that we believe at Career Protocol: Business is just a human thing. The rules of business are the rules of human relationships. If you know how to connect with people, you can succeed in business, inspire the hiring manager or admissions committee, and realize your dream career.
We have plenty of insider info at Career Protocol, but that’s not what’s going to get you where you want to go. You are what’s going to get you there. I’ll use my expertise to help you be yourself in language, and in the most compelling way possible.
Got any other tricks up your sleeve?
In addition to loving language, I also love detail, and planning, and coordinating. I’m the person who color coordinates her to-do list on her daily planner and then cross-references it with her monthly calendar. I’m the person who can’t stand Apple’s tiny red notification circles and checks her email relentlessly. And I’ll marshal all of this in helping you refine the best and truest expression of YOU.
There’s nothing quite like opening yourself up on paper for the world (or, at least, some very key people) to see. It can be terrifying and exhilarating all at once, and having a partner through those stages of envisioning, crafting, cutting, and shaping eases that feeling of exposure and your uncertainty about the process. I’ll make sure you don’t procrastinate yourself into a pickle, forget a key detail (or deadline), or overlook some stomach-dropping error once you’ve already hit send/submit. Not happening on my watch!
If enthusiasm is contagious—and I think it is—you’ll be all kinds of lit up about the details and deadlines of your particular project. Even if you aren’t, I’ll be jazzed enough for both of us.
“Sarah is a great enhancer, who can help you order and refine your thoughts to best communicate your message. She has done a lot for me throughout my educational journey. Thank you, Sarah!”
– Class of 2018 Admit
Any more questions?
If you have any more questions or know you want to work with me, sign up for a free MBA Strategy Session with our team!
You On Social?
Nothing to see here!
What’s your Myers Briggs type?
ESFJ all the way!
Top 5 Strengthsfinder strengths?
- Learner
- Focus
- Context
- Strategic
- Communication
Anything else?
- I’m from Kentucky & Texas. (I claim both as home states.) I moved to Texas early in life and fell in love with the sunshine, the friendliness, and the breakfast tacos, but my roots (and much of my family) are in the Bluegrass State.
- These days you can find me eating my way through Austin’s amazing food scene.
- I ask a whoooooooooole lotta questions (ask anyone), because I am one curious person.
- I love collecting knowledge and sharing it with others—one fun fact, helpful tip, or “did you know?” at a time. If I could know everything there is to know about everything, I’d be a happy camper. Meanwhile, I’ll just keep on learning.
- Bread is my love language. If I’ve had a hard day and my husband is at the grocery store deciding between flowers and bread, he’s gonna pick that warm loaf of fresh bread.
- I wrote my dissertation about silence (how’s that for irony?), because I’m fascinated by how much the Victorians valued silence and how they used it in their social and creative lives.
Finally, if I had to describe myself in one word, I’d say: dependable.