In my two decades working in academia I have found the most satisfaction in mentoring and supporting others toward their goals. At the start of my career I focused on my students, coaching them through the completion of their coursework in my classes or through the research and preparation of their thesis. I developed seminars on professional writing in my discipline and became a faculty mentor to students of color.
As my career continued, however, I found myself reaching out to younger scholars. I wanted to guide them through the hysteria of the academic job market, to advise them during their first years on the tenure track, and to offer an example of working motherhood that I so often needed but never found. This was always informal, but working in this way sustained me and gave me purpose. When I took on the position of Editor-in-Chief for an academic journal in my discipline I cherished my time spent talking with potential authors, offering feedback on iterative versions of their manuscripts. I thrived on the collaboration and on seeing their arguments develop and solidify.
I found that mentorship provided a method for me to not only encourage newer graduate students and faculty, but to ensure that the professoriate remained a diverse and viable option for those (like me) too frequently cast as "outsiders."
During the pandemic I started an online productivity group. We met online every morning for two years, shared our goals, talked through our anxieties, and celebrated the tiny wins. It started as a way for me to stay consistent in a time of overwhelming uncertainty, but more importantly I saw that it helped others as much as it helped me.
When I hit my ultimate academic goal --becoming Full Professor --in summer 2022 I realized that NOW was the time to devote more energy to mentoring and supporting others. I started Forza Coaching so that I can provide levels of support for other academics across a range of professional challenges, from research and writing, to the academic job market and promotion, and even to the elusive work-life balance that so many of us crave.
I work with my clients to identify their top line goals and to strategize methods for achieving them. And I do this work from the position of an expert, rather than an outside consultant. I still work in academia. I have gone through tenure (twice!). I have published three academic books. I have edited a peer-reviewed journal. I have chaired multiple search committees and secured the prestigious fellowships. And I want to show you how you can do all this (and more) too... without the shame and burnout that too often plagues talented academics. Because we deserve better.
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