MCCC Success Coaches Present at NACADA Conference on Student Empowerment
11/21/19
Louisville, Ky. – Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) student success coaches attended the National Academic Advising Association Conference (NACADA), where they held a presentation on “Empowering Students for the Win.” The Annual Conference for NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising held the convention last month, inviting over 3,500 advising and coaching professionals from around the globe.
Jehan Mohamed, Business and STEM coach, along with Nichol Killian, Health Professions coach, and Victoria Bowman, Liberal Arts, Honors and NJ Stars coach, focused their presentation on Mercer’s Success Coach Model. The coaches paid mind to their specialized students who come from a cross-section of backgrounds, including pre-professional nursing students, veterans, honors, and developmental education students.
The presentation, which garnered over 100 attendees, covered how the coaches support student success in each division at MCCC.
Bowman added that she looks forward to sharing what she learned at the convention and takes the opportunity to apply new techniques to her coaching style.
“As a coach, it’s important to understand our students’ unique challenges and help students navigate the waters for increased retention and success,” Bowman said. “Being able to learn new advising techniques and share professional experiences with colleagues from across the globe is an amazing opportunity.”
Killian stressed the importance of coaching while being mentally and physiologically healthy.
“Many of us have not been trained on how to decompress or to ‘let go’ after intense sessions,” Killian said. The convention struck the importance of providing the best care for the students, which begins with the coaches.
“We take the students' problems into our own well-being,” Killian added. “Training and opportunities to develop new skills are vital for continued success.”
“We need to bring every voice to the table,” Mohamed said, noting that the coaches work towards new efficient student success outcomes.
“With more inclusion, we can better understand, plan, and implement any new policies or practices that impact student success.”
MCCC Success Coaches, from left, Jehan Mohamad, Nichol Killian and Victoria Onori Bowman, presented at the NACADA Conference in Oct. 2019.