Thanks to determination and the help of her coach, second time was the charm for this once stopped-out student

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After she graduated from high school, Dani Brown followed what she calls the “classic pipeline” of going straight from high school into a college. “I was really blessed because I was given a dream scholarship — in sixth grade they pick out people who think they have promise and are first-generation college students. So they're like, ‘Hey, congrats, you get two free years at Caldwell Community College.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, cool. Free college and I don't have to do anything for it. I'm going to take advantage of that!’” It was a great plan… until it wasn’t. Feeling sick of school after doing “the first little bit,” Dani decided to take a break and stopped out.

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During that break, though, Dani discovered something important about herself. “I realized I missed the structure, and I really wanted to at least get my associate's degree under my belt,” she says. This prompted her to decide to return to Caldwell, which she now calls “the best decision I’ve ever made.” That’s not to say, however, that she didn’t have challenges to face upon re-enrollment. Luckily, she didn’t have to face them alone. Enter Leah Rogin, a success coach and specialist with InsideTrack.

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Re-starting strong

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Dani met Leah after she started back at Caldwell. As she recalls, “It was the first week of school. She called me out of the blue and was like, ‘Hey, my name's Leah. I'm with InsideTrack. I am going to be your coach to help you problem-solve and figure out what resources you need or just be there as an extra listening ear for whatever you might need over the semester’.” As it turned out, they made a great match. “Immediately I felt comfortable with her,” Dani explains. “I think it helped that we are both women, so we connected in that way women do. And then we ended up working together for almost a full year.”

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Throughout that year, they tackled a wide range of issues, including an English course that Dani called “the bane of my existence.” Having already taken it before, this was her last chance to take the class at Caldwell. With the fall term on the horizon, Dani worked with Leah to brainstorm ways to complete papers and assignments on time. Did it pay off? “It felt phenomenal to be able to finish the class with an A,” she says with pride. And now she’s actually looking forward to her next English class!

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“Leah was a huge help in finding different resources for me — not just academic resources, but also with funding,” Dani shares. “I was able to get access to emergency funding when I went through a job loss. And even though she was in Colorado, Leah was able to help me find community resources here in Boone. We could problem-solve together and that was one of the biggest things that helped me.”

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Leah’s coaching also supported Dani through some health struggles, particularly with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “With my ADHD, I find that my brain is a lot more hyperactive than my body. So being able to regain focus, especially when it comes to school, was a big challenge for me,” Dani shares. Leah not only helped Dani get access to her much-needed medication when there was a nationwide shortage, but she also tailored her coaching to the needs of a student with ADHD. 

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Leah notes, “As a coach, one of the things around ADHD is to never show up like ‘Here's what I think you need to do,’ but to instead start a conversation. Ask questions like ‘How are you going to handle this?’ and ‘What is going to be the best way for you to advocate for yourself?’ and ‘What would help you in the classroom?. Dani taught me a lot about what ADHD is and how it affects students. But it's also very individual, so being able to talk through that with Dani really helped me help her.”

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“It just felt like I had another person in my corner. It felt like she was always on my side and always fighting for me. And that was something that I needed at the beginning of this huge transition in my life. It was really nice.” - Dani Brown, Student

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The positives of working with a coach transcend specific issues. Dani sums up the immeasurable benefit of her InsideTrack coaching as she reflects on her relationship with Leah: “It just felt like I had another person in my corner. It felt like she was always on my side and always fighting for me. And that was something that I needed at the beginning of this huge transition in my life. It was really nice.”

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Finding a path through school — and toward a career

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Thanks to Leah’s personalized, one-on-one coaching, Dani’s success at her current school inspired her to want to keep going with her studies. After she graduates from Caldwell, Dani plans to pursue her BSS in psychology. “And then I hope to get my master's degree and do something in the field of research psychology. Honestly, that passion for psychology was ignited here, so I look forward to continuing on.” 

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What Dani learned during her coaching sessions will continue to serve her throughout her future academic endeavors — and her life. “One of the strengths that I have developed with Leah's help has been the ability to communicate better about what my needs are and how to implement them, whether that be with teachers, with my boss at work, whoever. My communication skills have gone crazy now!” 

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"Just knowing how to set myself up for success in the future — in my academic life, in my personal life, in my career, no matter what the situation — is amazing.” - Dani Brown, Student

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She also has incorporated one of Leah’s academic strategies into all parts of her life. As Dani explains, “One of my favorite things that Leah has taught me, which has influenced me so much, even now, is ‘what can current Dani do for future Dani?’. That has stuck with me over everything because all of the coaching we've done can boil down to that. If current Dani does not advocate for herself now, then future Dani will not be as set-up for success as she could have been. So just knowing how to set myself up for success in the future — in my academic life, in my personal life, in my career, no matter what the situation — is amazing.”

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Taking away lifelong lessons

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Beyond the inspiration, strategies and resources gained through coaching, it’s the long-term effects of coaching that really showcase its transformative power in students’ lives. “It has been really cool to see Dani’s sense of resilience develop,” Leah shares. “One of the things we've talked through is that the issues aren't going to go away. There's never not going to be obstacles, there's never not going to be roadblocks. And so really what you have to do is figure out how you're going to handle those. The first few times we talked, I felt like there might be things that had the potential to bring Dani down or obstacles that would be really difficult for her to overcome. But as we continued working together, I truly felt that none of these things were going to hold her back. As coaches, we work with our students to develop skills and create plans so that, if and when things occur, they're really prepared to take them on and think through them. That sense of resilience and grit is going to stay with Dani, no matter what happens, whatever comes up.” 

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"As coaches, we work with our students to develop skills and create plans so that, if and when things occur, they're really prepared to take them on and think through them." - Leah Rogin, Success Coach

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Dani’s not the only one to leave the coaching relationship with lessons learned. “I feel like we really did undergo this journey as partners, and Dani's taught me a lot,” Leah admits. “When I started coaching, I was coming from a teaching background, so it was really easy to live on that instructional side of things where you tell people what to do and then they do it. But the coaching model we use at InsideTrack is much more on the inquisitive side, where you ask questions and talk through things. Working with Dani really showed me that asking the right questions makes all the difference. Being able to think through things with somebody in real time, together, is a lot more effective than just me saying ‘do this’ and then somebody doing it. Being able to build a relationship of discussion and inquisition and curiosity together has been great.”