University Professor & Ph.D. provides elite academic coaching for college personal statements, writing, and research.

As a former student of Dr. Spinner, I only have good things to say about her! She is incredibly kind, funny, and — most importantly of all — extremely knowledgeable and helpful. She was always there to help students in class with everything and anything, and she never had a judgemental attitude towards us when we did not know something, which was quite the breath of fresh air for me in a writing class. I never felt "less than" in her class and was never afraid to ask questions because I knew I would get an expert, non-judgemental answer. She truly encapsulates what it means to be a great mentor and she truly wants to see you succeed!

Dr. Spinner was on of my best professors at Duke. She provided the most engaging lessons and created a learning environment that not only encouraged participation but fostered reflection as well. Choosing Dr. Spinner as your tutor will be an amazing experience and you certainly won’t regret it!

I took Professor Spinner last Spring, and she was an incredible teacher! She is very knowledgeable, fun, and knows how to make any topic exciting! If you are looking for a tutor, I would absolutely recommend.

I had the privilege of being one of Dr. Spinner’s students during my first semester at Duke. Her creative project assignments, engaging readings, and emphasis on real-world application made me genuinely fall in love with the course material. Because of her teaching style, I felt intrinsically motivated to fully immerse myself in the subject, which led me to produce some of my strongest writing and academic work. Her guidance, insight, and deep understanding of prose also greatly strengthened my writing skills. I would highly recommend working with Dr. Spinner.

Dr. Spinner was my writing teacher during my first year of college. Besides the fact that she is amazing at what she does, she is so easy to connect with and probably one of the most understanding professors I've ever had. We clicked on the first day of classes. From there, I learned about all her niche interests and what brought her to specialize in what she does. She has forever molded the way that I connect feminism and magic. Her versatility in knowledge and ability to make connections is sure to make your writing sound compelling to those who read it, whether it be a professor, college admissions officer, employer, etc. If you want to better your writing skills, be given great life advice, and make cool connections between things you thought had no correlation, Cheryl Spinner is the person for you!

Dr. Spinner was my freshman year writing professor, and boy do I wish I had someone like her to help me write admissions essays. Something she really excels at is working to bring out students' personal voices in their writing, rather than trying to adhere to a formula. She makes writing fun, and her advice on my final literature review allowed me to create one of my favorite things I've ever written!

Cheryl is an excellent teacher and mentor! I met her through my freshman year writing course and it has remained one of my favorite courses I've taken at Duke so far. Our class was uniquely engaging as we got to utilize materials and readings about topics I never thought I would be able to engage with in an academic setting. During this course we also wrote a literature review which was my first experience doing so. Cheryl encouraged every student to work on something they were genuinely curious about which made for a wide variety of topics. Her feedback and guidance have stuck with me on every literature review I have written since! Working with Cheryl has been such a pleasure and definitely stands out in my connections I have made at Duke.

Dr. Spinner is an amazing instructor who made academic writing feel far less intimidating. Through her guidance, I became much more confident in my ability to conduct research, analyze different forms of media, and communicate my ideas more professionally and effectively. She creates a classroom environment that is both supportive and engaging, always encouraging students to think critically while making learning genuinely enjoyable. What stands out most about Dr. Spinner is how kind, patient, and invested she is in her students’ growth. Her mentorship and encouragement made difficult assignments feel manageable. Her passion for teaching motivated me to take more pride in my work, and I would highly recommend her to any student looking for a kind, supportive, and highly skilled educator.

I took a writing class with Professor Spinner my freshman fall at Duke. Upon setting foot in her class I could instantly tell that Dr. Spinner incredibly dedicated towards making her course personal and engaging. Over the course of the semester she proved to be a deeply caring, kind professor while providing excellent feedback and direction towards writing pieces. You will certainly be in for an unconventional class, in the best ways, with Dr. Spinner!

Dr. Spinner is a spectacular professor and played a pivotal role in the development of my writing abilities at a collegiate level. She has a wonderful way of making every student she works with feel seen and heard while prioritizing their individual needs and tailoring her constructive advice to their level and specific areas of improvement. Truly, she has had one of the most formative impacts on my college learning, so I cannot recommend her highly enough as a tutor for those at any stage in their journey.

Dr. Spinner is a spectacular professor and played a pivotal role in the development of my writing abilities at a collegiate level. She has a wonderful way of making every student she works with feel seen and heard while prioritizing their individual needs and tailoring her constructive advice to their level and specific areas of improvement. Truly, she has had one of the most formative impacts on my learning in college, so I cannot recommend her enough as a tutor for those at any stage in their journey.

Dr. Spinner is a great professor and a very knowledgeable resource. She provides excellent guidance, mentorship, and feedback while catering to each of her students' needs. As a student of hers, I found she always demonstrated a welcoming and friendly attitude, making it really easy to approach her at any time.

Dr. Spinner is a great resource and writer. She’s kindhearted and very passionate about her work, making her approachable and inspiring to aspiring writers. She isn’t afraid to give you honest feedback that can help transform your piece. I worked with her on a literature review, and she met with me to give lots of detailed notes that really helped me understand the purpose of a literature review and feel more confident moving forward into academic writing. She also makes an effort to listen to students and form meaningful connections, traits paramount when working on deeply personal pieces like college admissions writing.

Working with Cheryl is a pleasure. She’s reliable, deeply knowledgeable, and brings years of experience in higher education. From the start, she made me feel confident and supported. My time working with her on a difficult writing project genuinely changed the way I write moving forward. She has a rare blend of professionalism and kindness, and I can’t recommend her enough.

Cheryl is both a wonderful teacher and mentor. She will forever be endeared to my heart for the great roads of scholasticism down which we trod together. She has the rare gift of being able to communicate abstruse philosophical concepts in a fun creative relatable way.

Having known her for nearly 15 years, I have had the privilege of watching her transform from a dedicated graduate student into an astonishingly good professor and mentor. I witnessed firsthand the process of her completing her dissertation and obtaining her doctorate. It was not easy. I was, and continue to be, inspired by her fortitude. Because she has lived through that fire, she knows exactly what kind of pressure graduate students are under. She is especially attentive to the grueling highs and lows of the dissertation process; she understands that graduate school can be a demoralizing experience, and she purposefully works to lift her students up rather than breaking them down.

While she excels at helping graduate students manage the immense weight of their tasks with incisive feedback, Cheryl is equally passionate about mentoring undergraduates. She truly cherishes working with students at the start of their academic journeys, maintaining deep connections with them long after they have graduated. She is that rare professor who is genuinely delighted to write letters of recommendation and advocate for her students' futures, seeing their growth as a vital and rewarding part of her own work.

As a writer myself, I find Cheryl’s thoughts on my own ideas and writing invaluable; even just talking through a concept with her is transformative. Her excitement to brainstorm is contagious, and she has a unique ability to turn a daunting task into an inspired collaboration.