Hi! My name is Doreen Hsu (Hsu pronounced like “soo”), and I received my Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego in June 2024. I am also an undergraduate alum of UCSD. Prior to my Ph.D., I completed my Master of Arts in International Culture and Communication at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.
At Dr. Write-Aid Consulting, I specialize in one-on-one writing consultations and academic coaching for projects like college and grad school applications, dissertations, group workshops, and more. Welcome to my website!
Dr. Write-Aid Consulting is a certified Small Business (Micro-business) in California, United States of America.
My focus is based on providing individualized support to your writing process as you complete your projects, and teach you strategies that you can continue to apply for future writing. I strongly believe in supporting writers to develop long-term skills, strategies, and sustainable writing habits, so that is my goal.
Teaching Writing
As an experienced writing consultant, instructor, and mentor, I have over seven years of experience advising undergraduate students, graduate students, and working professionals. I specialize in helping writers in applying to college and graduate school, finishing dissertations, applying to academic/non-academic jobs, publishing papers, and succeeding across industries. I have worked for over four years as a graduate writing consultant in a university writing center, and am experienced in supporting writers across all disciplines and projects.
As a recent Ph.D., I am not your faculty advisor, your professional staff advisor, or your fellow student. During our consultations, I’m not interested in telling you what to write. Rather, I’m motivated to help you build better writing habits, give you relevant feedback based on what YOU want, and share strategies that you can use for future writing across diverse fields.
Having worked and studied across cultures and disciplines, I am proud of my interdisciplinary and international range. Writing is both deeply personal and social, and I would be happy to learn more about you and be part of your professional support network.
No matter what you study or what career you intend to pursue, writing is a foundational skill for your success. Developing your skills as a writer helps you pursue your goals, and I want to ensure you feel confident and prepared to grow academically and professionally.
Academic Research
As a scholar, my research focuses on topics including higher education, mental health, racial and ethnic identities, and immigration. I have worked for over six years in academic leadership positions to develop mentorship programs, research programs, course curricula, writing programs, and more. I am also an experienced writing instructor of over five years, having taught college writing and worked as a Graduate Writing Consultant at the UCSD Teaching and Learning Commons. I’m especially proud of co-founding our partnership between the Teaching and Learning Commons and the Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern Desi American (APIMEDA) Programs & Services Office.
My dissertation titled “Invisible Diversity” is about college student experiences of race and ethnic identities, education, family history, and mental health. More specifically, I focus on Asian American and multiracial Asian American student experiences to understand how they access resources for mental health and social support networks, such as cultural student organizations and campus community offices. I conducted over five years of ethnographic fieldwork, textual analysis of university archival data and social media content, and interviews with faculty, staff, and student leaders who facilitate campus services. All together, I conducted over 80 interviews with undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and professional staff and analyzed over 800 pages of historical and contemporary content.
International Industry Work
Outside of academia, I have worked in Taiwan and Japan in industry areas such as luxury hospitality, service, interpretation, translation, copy editing, and beauty. I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and English. You can read more about my research and professional work on my personal website here.
Starting Dr. Write-Aid Consulting
A couple months after I defended my Ph.D. dissertation, I started to provide personalized academic coaching and writing consultations. I was surprised to get busy with my consulting, and I started Dr. Write-Aid Consulting as my small business. (Edit March 2025: micro-business, in fact, as I just got certified as a micro-business!)
I started Dr. Write-Aid Consulting very spontaneously. As a Ph.D., I receive many emails from students and professionals who want to know more about Ph.D. programs or graduate school in general. Since I did my Master’s in Waseda University in Japan, and worked in Taiwan for a while, I also meet prospective applicants from all over the world. I met one prospective applicant, we start talking and got along, and they asked me: “I saw on your website that you do writing consultations. I previously used a writing consulting agency for preparing my graduate school applications, but I wasn’t entirely satisfied with them. I was wondering if you would be able to do that for me?” And I was like, yes I can definitely do that!
After my first few client sessions, I started formalizing Dr. Write-Aid Consulting. I updated my personal website, self-consciously told all my friends and family, and I surprisingly started getting client messages and referrals. As I met more clients, I standardized my services, got a separate email, and continued to update my personal website. I am still very much in the building stage, especially since I started so spontaneously.
You can read more about my research, teaching, mentoring, and graduate school journey here:
Contact
- Email me: doreen@drwriteaid.com
- Book a free consultation: https://calendar.app.google/At9bVaaXuLcrDuAw8
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Dr. Write-Aid 