Helping the kids: Let’s be partners

“Prior to college, I thought I had it all down: time management, friends, school, and extra curricula. Despite my confidence, my freshman year did not go as planned, and the more I pretended everything was okay, the more I realized how much I needed someone like Kim to help me. It is difficult for me to open up to someone, and I was absolutely terrified to do so, but Kim’s positive and genuine demeanor made not only myself calmer, but also made me realize that everything was in fact not falling a part, which I was convinced it was. As time went along with Kim, she never sugar coated things, but instead told me the reality of the situation (something I wanted to hear) and gave me techniques and exercises to help me get back to where I wanted to be. I felt as though she immediately understood and respected me. In conclusion, I have nothing but incredible things to say about Kim because from someone who has hated the concept of therapists her entire life, Kim was the perfect support system and mentor I needed. Even months after finishing working with her, Kim has always been there to answer a quick question, or even just check-in with me. I honestly cannot thank you enough Kim for everything you have done, and now instead of being scared of change, I am ready to take on the challenge.”

“As a client of Kim’s for nearly two years, I can say that she has brought tremendous guidance, support, and care into my life which have really helped me out through my transition into college in terms of time management, academic planning, extra curricular prioritization and selection, social life, and more. Although Kim is the only one I’ve worked with, I have to assume that she is tremendously special in the world of life coaches. I began with Kim just as I entered college, and I could tell that she not only developed a strong understanding of my personality within our first few sessions, but also a genuine interest in my success and overall well-being. I know that this same level of trust and mutual understanding between two people typically takes much longer to achieve. Even when my own parents and best friends aren’t aware of exactly how many tests I have in a given week, or just how nervous I am about an upcoming a cappella audition, I can count on Kim to help me map out my studying, send a quick text to hold me accountable for that extra chapter we had planned for me to read that day, and push me to go to that audition. She will even follow up to ask how tests went, and she’s always there to remind me of my most special qualities when I’m feeling down. This past semester has been a bit tough on me, so Kim suggested that each morning I write down three great things that happened the previous day. Although a seemingly small task, this “happiness journal” really made a difference for me. Lastly, each and every call is filled with encouragement, which is no small task. Kim skillfully dissects each piece of information I give her, from the largest to the most trivial bits, and offers direct and sincere praise. I can pinpoint numerous occasions when Kim’s advice and support helped me through, as I reflect back on these past two years. I’m lucky to have found her!”

“I was very stubborn about coaching the summer before my freshman year. I wanted to be independent, mature, and to have as much fun as possible. I wanted to make my own mistakes and to not be judged for them. I didn’t think that I would be able to do that if I was being coached… especially if my coach was my aunt. Kim wanted to “practice” on me, and I was certainly in no mood to be her experimental coaching client. So, I went through my whole freshman year without a coach thinking that no matter what kind of challenges or successes I was faced with, I could handle all of them on my own. Boy, I was wrong.

I went through my whole first semester without any real academic or social problems, and I thought that second semester would be just as easy. I had achieved everything that I wanted to without a coach, so I was not about to give up and let her start dictating my life in college. Well, to my surprise, halfway through my second semester, I had a mid-life crisis, and I was scared. My grades were struggling, I wanted to change my major, my social life was stressful, and I was having an extremely hard time balancing both. Although it was hard, I reached out to Kim. One of the hardest things that I did was ask her for help. And sure enough, she was there for me. She was there for me as a support system and as a mentor, not as a counselor or parent, but a friend. She helped me make goals that helped me achieve the grades that I needed so that I could change my major to something that I was actually excited about. She help me decide how to go about addressing my social situations in my friend group, she guided me through conversations with professors, and more importantly she was always there to listen.

Kim has been nothing more than an advocate, a friend, and a voice of reason for me while I have been a student at college. It is because of her that I not only feel more confident about the choices I make, but I also think through my decisions more clearly, I am more focused on the things that are important to me, and I am more prepared for the tasks that lie ahead.”

“My First two years in high school were particularly rough for a multitude of reasons. First off, I was highly disorganized, my time-management skills were horrendous and the various problems I was dealing with would in turn affect the amount on motivation I had to get any work done. As a result, I was stuck in a vicious cycle of poor performance and poor self-esteem and motivation and was barely scraping by. After meeting Kim, I slowly emerged from the hole I had dug myself with the various exercises she had designed specifically to help me tackle life one day at a time. Slowly but sure, I started to build some sort of structure in my life that, with the help of Kim soon became self-sustainable. She didn’t do the work for me, but helped me to help myself to realize my full potential academically and in life in general. Kim was more than a life coach, she was a mentor. While she was mainly there to help me with school, she understood that some problems and their roots aren’t so black and white and tend to transcend into other parts of life. Consequently, I found her helping me with virtually everything in life. Before I knew it received an acceptance letter from one of the top 5 business schools in the country, and I can honestly say I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Kim.”

“Working with Kim made all the difference with my transition into college. Kim is 100% encouraging but she never pesters. We talked once a week and set weekly goals that were all ACHIEVABLE. Additionally, if there was ever a time when I was not able to fulfill a goal, I never felt ashamed or scared to admit it to Kim. We went over why it didn’t work for me and tried something else the next week. Kim has an endless supply of strategies for success. When I became interested in the highly-selective student Emergency Medical Services organization on campus, Kim coached me through networking and gave me the confidence I needed to believe I was one of the best candidates. I felt good about my achievements, which made me proud of myself. This confidence absolutely contributed to my ultimate success by being chosen as one of nine new members out of over 120 applicants that semester, and by being a Biology and French double major with a 3.8 GPA!”

“Kim is incredible! She has a genuine, fresh energy that’s consistently positive. Within a couple of sessions, I was completely comfortable sharing things with Kim. Whenever we got the chance to talk, she was understanding, patient and open; it didn’t matter whether I was talking to her about my day or talking to her about my problems. Kim doesn’t give you life advice; instead gives you techniques and exercises to help guide you to make your OWN decisions—a way more useful tool. She aims to help you learn about yourself, go after what you want, and make the best decisions to attain your goals. Kim makes it her 24/7 job to be the biggest supporter in your pursuit to enhance your quality of life, and never loses her passion to see her clients succeed. The decision to work with Kim is the decision to create a better future for yourself. No regrets anywhere…Absolutely love Kim!”