Daniel G.
5.0
(17)
Studied at University of Pennsylvania
Works at Couca Communications
Successful clients at
Available Friday at 4:30 PM UTC
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About Daniel
Hi, I'm Daniel, a summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania who has spent the past five years helping students receive admission to top-tier institutions like Penn, Brown, Hopkins, LSE and more. I've reviewed over 500 essays and have a knack for turning messy drafts into unforgettable narratives. My approach is deeply collaborative. I start by building trust and connection, then helping students uncover the stories that reflect their most authentic selves. My career has taken me from the White House to NASA, and now to employee #2 at a fast-growing PR startup. Outside of work, I play keys and bass, read a ton (any recs?), and train for half-marathons with his mom—we're aiming to complete one in every U.S. state.
Why do I coach?
Coaching is my way of paying that forward. While grateful for learning public speaking from Professor McInerny, French from Professor Péron, and Buddhist practices from Professor McDaniel, I am even more appreciative of them for teaching me adaptability, resilience, and cultural respect. Their lessons -- and my high school principal Mr. Hughes’s mantra that “character counts” -- have shaped my view of education as a vehicle for personal growth as much as achievement. That belief guides my work at Leland. As a college admissions coach, I help students find the thread that ties their stories together and say it like they mean it. Sometimes that means reminding them they’re more interesting than they think; other times, it means cutting three sentences to say what one good one could. Coaching, to me, isn’t about polishing applications but sharpening people.
Work Experience
Founder
Couca Communications
May 2021 - Present
Comms support for youth-led, mission-driven startups
Press Office
The White House
September 2024 - December 2024
• Supported Press Secretary’s podium briefings, gaggles, and National Security press calls by tracking questions and drafting transcripts • Curated social media posts for senior Administration official, reaching 2.3 million audience and receiving 10 million weekly impressions • Automated article scraping and streamlined content delivery efficiency by 90% with OAuth2 and BeautifulSoup in Python
Intern
NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
January 2023 - April 2023
Still trying to find a way to land myself on the moon
Education
University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree, Psychology, Computer Science, and Political Science
2020 - 2024
At Penn, I graduated summa cum laude with a 3.98 GPA and earned honors including Dean’s List, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Psi Chi. I was selected as a Ben Franklin Scholar—an honors program for the top ~4% of my class based on interdisciplinary curiosity—and a member of the Gryphon Senior Society celebrating leaders in the College of Arts and Sciences. Outside the classroom, I blended policy research, mentorship, and storytelling: - As a Perry World House Fellow, I advised UN officials on gender and technology policy, contributing a formal paper and presentation. - I co-founded Pi Lambda Sigma, Penn’s only public service pre-professional society, growing it to 80+ members and leading speaker events with diplomats and civic leaders. - I conducted cross-cultural research on memory in the Human Behavior and Origins Lab. - (I also was in a band, did stand-up comedy, and ran!) My time at Penn trained me to think critically, write persuasively, and support others navigating complex paths—skills I now use to help applicants craft standout admissions narratives rooted in their authentic stories.
17 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Daniel has helped clients get into these schools: