“While the difficult takes time, the impossible just takes a little longer.”
– Art Berg
“Changing the world one conversation at a time”: The motto from the Coaching Academy where I obtained my certification inspires me every day when meeting new clients. This is especially true when I meet those potential university students who may be hesitant about their strengths and capacities. Usually, these students often find it hard to face so many challenges at once because they face disability-related challenges or a new social, cultural, and linguistic reality away from their friends and family. It is not uncommon–and this I learned through my personal experience–that these potential students might start to listen to their own gremlins and let time go by unnecessarily, some of them without ever reaching their full potential …
Others, however, explore their possibilities by talking to an Academic Coach or a University Advisor early enough and realize that they have the power to overcome these challenges.
Many of these have been the athletes, I have been blessed to work with. Knowing that so many of them have successfully reached their goals has made me feel like a happy and successful professional.
The wording, timing, and ability to help so many vulnerable students redefine success in their terms have made my coaching experience and style successful for each of my clients and myself. Many of them are students, some are also professionals, and many are new Canadians. They sometimes have to start from square one after leaving challenging experiences in their country of origin due to political turmoil, repression and other extreme circumstances. This has been my practice as a professional Coach since 2015, the year I retired from the university where I had the immense privilege of advising students with special needs for 25 years. This coaching style, which I was able to test and strengthen thanks to what I learned from the hundreds of students over two decades, witnessing their success, has also been my accomplishment.
I am motivated to continue in my field beyond my early retirement date, which many professionals dream of, because of the joy of watching others succeed.
“Life is about joining the dots”,… once said by Steve Jobs, reminds me of the importance of putting together all of one’s personal life experiences to develop and enhance one’s career, especially if it means offering professional support services. This slogan has been essential as I prepare a full coaching and integration package to offer potential international students the critical tools to successfully integrate and reach their academic goals in Canada. My language tutoring and translation certification, my BA in Sociology and Psychology, my Coaching certificate and multicultural sensitivity, and twenty-five years of experience as a Special Needs Advisor enable me to give these potential students the support they need. I’m confident that all these experiential assets I offer are essential elements in preparing potential University students–both local and abroad– to go beyond thinking about applying to a Canadian University and feeling ready to do it.
I must remember to join all the dots…. the most valuable less of all, gained from witnessing the success of the many students I have prepared and watched graduate. Therefore I persist…. I want to share this experience with the many local and international students who dream of reaching their goals….
Connect with Maria-Teresa:
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