
Kadie Jaffe
Ex-Disney Creative Technologist | Admissions Story Expert | Berkeley CS
Studied at University of California, Berkeley
Worked at Walt Disney Studios
Available Monday at 4:00 PM UTC
Available outside default hours on request!
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Kadie's Coaching Offerings
Common App + FREE BYU Application and Essay Guidance
Expert help on the Common App + FREE BYU essays and application support
$4,99915h–25h of coaching
Get Into Your Dream College — Complete Package
Expert help on your applications, including essays, activities, and more
Starting at $10,00020h+ of coaching
Write Powerful College Essays
Expert help to brainstorm, draft, and polish winning college essays
Starting at $1,2505h+ of coaching
Custom hourly · $250/hr
Get help with Recommendations, Essays, and .
Kadie’s College Qualifications
Coaches professionally
60+ people coached for College
Berkeley CS alum, Walt Disney Animation Studios Creative Technologist, NYU Tisch Dramatic Writing MFA candidate | Specializing in mentoring STEM, interdisciplinary, and creative applicants | Learn admissions storytelling secrets and craft a memorable personal narratives | Seven years of admissions mentorship experience | You've worked hard, earned good grades, achieved high test scores, and have built yourself an impressive resume. Well, so has everybody else! The truth is, communicating your personal story as compellingly as possible is essential to differentiate your application from the thousands. Let me help you tell your personal story compellingly so you will truly stand out. Years of experience in the film industry has strengthened my love of storytelling and knowledge of what makes a good story—one of my greatest strengths as an admissions coach. Everyone has a good story, but telling yours isn't always easy! I'm here to demystify the process and support you at every step: from brainstorming to final polish. My approach centers on cultivating a central "main idea" that highlights YOUR unique talents and how you will contribute significantly to your prospective class. Beyond securing college admissions, I aim to impart lifelong storytelling skills, which are invaluable for personal and professional growth. Prior to pursuing my MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU, I graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a minor in Chemical Engineering. I've earned four associates degrees from Santa Barbara City College in Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Liberal Arts & Sciences: Concentrating in Science and Math. Professionally, I hold years of experience working as a lighting artist and software engineer with some of the most reputed software engineering teams in the world, including teams at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disneytoon Studios, and Disney ABC Television Group. I hold film credits on Encanto, Frozen II, Moana II, Raya and The Last Dragon, Strange World, and Forevergreen. I have seven years of admissions consulting experience, guiding students toward their acceptance to top programs including UCLA, USC, UChicago, UMichigan, Cal Poly SLO, UNH, Washington State, UOregon, URI, as well as receiving interview invitations from MIT, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and more.
Kadie can help with:
Recommendations
Essays
Secondary Review
Application Strategy
Financial Aid & Scholarships
General Exploration
Resume
Interviews
Editing
Waitlist Strategy
Supplementary Materials
School Selection
Work Experience

Software Engineer
Walt Disney Studios
September 2018 - August 2024
🝔 Hair & Cloth Team 2019 - 2021 🝔 Developed features for Xgen, Tonic, and other tools to support Look and Character Artists and conversion of studio pipeline to USD. 🝔 Presto Team 2018 - 2019 🝔 Helped build a Layout editing tool and pipeline to roundtrip between Animation and Editorial, supporting the production of a "production event", technology-driven short film. 🝔 Primary Technologies: C++, Python, Maya

Lighting Apprentice
Walt Disney Studios
May 2021 - October 2021

Lighting Trainee
Walt Disney Studios
January 2021 - May 2021

Software Engineer
Disneytoon Studios
July 2017 - July 2018
🝔 Research, pitch and implement pipeline modernizations including CI/CD, containerization, cloud migrations, etc. 🝔 Develop and maintain diverse software pipeline to deliver film. 🝔 Studio’s subject matter expert on Shotgun, acting as tech lead and project manager on Shotgun related items. 🝔 Learn filmmaking and storytelling process to determine best way to support production team. 🝔 Primary Technologies: Python, Flask, Javascript, Shotgun. 🝔 Secondary Technologies: Ruby on Rails.
Operations Engineering Intern
Disney+
January 2017 - May 2017
🝔 Designed and directed videos, presentations, and live streaming event showcasing business purpose and technical specifications of social media equipment to execs. 🝔 Successfully self-directed in order to balance multiple projects from different offices and contexts.
Software Engineering Intern
Disney+
January 2017 - May 2017
🝔 Engineered a frame accurate web annotation system to enables artists to create draw overs and visual notes for vendor retakes. 🝔 Primary Technologies : Python, SQLite, HTML5 canvas, CSS, JavaScript, CherryPy.
Education
Santa Barbara City College
Associates Degree, Math, Physics, Chemistry, Applied Sciences

New York University
Master of Fine Arts - MFA, Dramatic Writing
2024 - 2026

University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Computer Science, Chemical Engineering Minor, Computer Science
2014 - 2016
🝔 UC Berkeley Undergraduate Graphics Group, Director of Animated Short 'World Domination' 2016. 🝔 American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Webmaster 2015-2016. 🝔 Californium Brewers and Winemakers, Officer 2014-2015. 🝔 Berkeley Engineers and Mentors, General Member 2014. 🝔 Cal Boxing, 2016.