As Success Coaches, we strive to create meaningful relationships with all of our students, where they feel comfortable coming to us about anything. Connecting with your Success Coach can be instant for some and take longer for others for several reasons. We understand this relationship development may be especially challenging for students who belong to marginalized social groups (e.g., BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, first-generation college students, students with disabilities, poor and working class students). In an ideal world, we would have coaches that are representative of all the marginalized groups that we serve. Naming that, we aspire to serve our students holistically through equitable practices and celebrating each individual’s unique journey.
We want to acknowledge that coaches are not immune to biases that are a part of our larger society and university. Students may rightfully worry that their coaches might bring these biases into their work through microaggressions or failures of understanding. If this occurs in a coaching session, we hope to cultivate a community where all of our students feel comfortable enough to provide us with constructive and meaningful feedback.
Adapted from Kind Mind Psychology