We spoke to Elizabeth Ellis, a Psychology with Criminology student to find out how the Student Experience Coaches helped with her degree.
What brought you to coaching?
I was struggling with multiple areas before accessing coaching:
- Time management
- Organisation (aka timetable, study schedule, routine)
- Imposter syndrome and confidence
- Deadline submissions – getting them in and on time
- Attendance
- Keeping on top of coursework
- Managing overwhelm
- Managing and prioritising my health alongside my studies – finding a healthy balance I can consistently maintain
- Accessibility of workload – not knowing how to start and becoming ‘frozen’
- Difficulty completing admin tasks – both for my personal life (that’ll positively impact my studies when complete, such as the ADHD referral form) and study-related
- Memory and retaining information
What did you do in the coaching session?
During the coaching sessions I have gained:
- A compassionate, empathetic, safe and non-judgemental space to be open and honest about how I am feeling – never being made to feel like my emotions don’t matter or are wrong.
- Confidence – noticing my efforts and celebrating my ‘wins’ – (no matter how small they may seem on the outside) and therefore encouraging me to do the same for myself.
- Recognition and consideration of the complex and direct impact health has on academic studies – especially living with mental and physical health issues which have often not been considered in the past in relation to academic performance and encouragement to prioritise and focus on looking after my health above all else.
- Direction – knowing exactly what areas to focus on and where and how to start.
- A personalised and tailored yet manageable action plan – formed together and broken down into doable steps.
- Someone to bounce my ideas off of and help me be realistic so as to avoid overwhelm, whilst still encouraging me to have confidence in my ability to get things done and workload.
- A mood-booster every time – a positive and empathetic person who is genuinely dedicated to enhancing my student experience and makes me feel supported and cared about.
- Reminders of things I have mentioned in previous appointments and recognition of the growth in each individual area.
- Autonomy and space to make each session completely unique and tailored to my individual needs that specific day – which has been invaluable for my fluctuating schedule, capacity, mood, motivation and energy levels.
- Space to ‘body double’ hard tasks such as admin tasks, with timed check-ins so as to give support as and when I need and keep me on task.
- Tools for time management, organisation and tasks that are specifically recommended for me and my needs.
What has been the impact of coaching?
Following the coaching sessions I have gained:
- A personalised action plan after every session – breaking down the tasks we decided together and step-by-step to completing each task.
- A reminder of what we discussed in the session and worked on – so I always have this to come back to and refresh my memory.
- Flexibility and understanding – when it comes to having to reschedule due to unpredictable health, with at times slow replies, and having technical difficulties, and moving between face-to-face and online sessions.
- Accommodation – willingness to offer extended or more frequent sessions during times of need and always having her inbox open for queries and concerns.
- CONFIDENCE! I always leave sessions feeling a million times better than I began them feeling. My coach has truly been THE thing that has single-handedly improved my Study life – in all areas: my attendance, my grades, my deadline management, my time-keeping, my organization skills, my ability to find balance, my confidence in my academic ability (Achieving a 1st under her weekly sessions!), my boundaries with myself and others, my ability to be flexible and prioritise tasks, my understanding of my diet and sleep, implementation of healthy habits and a daily routine, my ability to listen to and honour how my body is feeling without judgement, my ability to celebrate every single win, the ability to break things down, tools to manage overwhelm, an ability to prioritise myself, and my passion for my studies.
I have gone from no confidence, to heaps of confidence under the guidance of my coach for the past year. I would recommend student coaching to anyone. I am so beyond glad and grateful I approached my coach in the library and we had our first session promptly after that – My university experience and quality of life alongside studying would not be in the place it is now if it wasn’t for her invaluable time and support.
To find out how the Student Experience Coaches can support your university experience, book an appointment online.
