Offered at 91短视频 since 2010, the program offers one-on-one personalized coaching and mentoring to help undergraduate students adjust to life away from home. CoachLink can help support students struggling with time management, stress, anxiety, depression, attention issues, and general problems with their moods or concentration. The program is available to 91短视频 students at no cost.

CoachLink has been completely rebooted this year, with three new coaches joining the program. We talked to one of those coaches, Karissa Sanford, to learn all about the program and how it supports students on campus.

What is CoachLink?
We walk alongside students and meet them where they鈥檙e at. Some students might struggle academically, with time management, organization, or just adjusting to college life in general, so we mentor them in that we listen to them, talk with them, and come up with goals and ideas to iron out their problems so they can be more successful here on campus. We always say that success looks different for everyone. Some people don鈥檛 want to be A+ students and that鈥檚 fine. We鈥檒l help you become the best B+ student on campus if that鈥檚 your goal. We want to help you get there, but overall, we want you to graduate.

Who is it for?
CoachLink is for anybody. You don鈥檛 have to be in a bad spot or struggling. We鈥檙e here for students in whatever way they need to get connected to talk, so we鈥檙e always a resource that鈥檚 available to them.

Has there been a lot of interest from students?
We鈥檙e starting to pick up because we鈥檙e at the point in the semester where students start to identify that what they鈥檙e doing might not be working and that they might need some extra support. All my meetings have been positive. Sometimes they already know what to do; they just need a little extra encouragement. With other students, what they鈥檙e doing might not necessarily be wrong. It鈥檚 just not working for them, and so it鈥檚 all about trying different techniques.

Where were you before coming to 91短视频?
I鈥檓 originally from a very small town in Ohio (Saint Paris) and then went to college at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for three years (graduating with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in elementary education). My mom and I just moved here in May, so I鈥檓 new to Harrisonburg, new to 91短视频, and new to this role.

In addition to Sanford, Valarie Ghant and Celeste Thomas serve as the other two CoachLink coaches. Learn more about the coaches here.

What鈥檚 your favorite part of the job?
I love meeting with students and seeing their eyes light up. Some students come in and they can be pretty defeated. They鈥檝e been struggling for a while and they feel like it鈥檚 snowballed and that they鈥檙e never going to get out of it. I love when we talk about techniques and they realize, This might actually work for me. I love seeing that look on their face. When they come back and it鈥檚 working and they鈥檙e doing a lot better, it just makes me so happy because I loved my college experience. It was some of the best years of my life and I want other people to feel that, too. I want everyone to leave college feeling like they were successful and accomplished and proud of what they did and happy with their time here. I like to help students find that.

Where do you meet with students?
We can meet here (in Room 275D of the Visual and Communication Arts/VACA department), but we leave it up to students where they feel most comfortable. I meet a lot of students at Common Grounds because it鈥檚 a fun area. We can take a walk around campus, go to Campus Center or the library, wherever works best for them.

How often do you meet with each student?
It鈥檚 up to the student. I have students who meet with me once鈥攖hey just need a little bit of advice鈥攁nd then they鈥檙e like, OK, cool, I don鈥檛 need to meet with you anymore. And that鈥檚 totally fine. Other students want to meet every week and keep this as a part of their routine.

How can students sign up for the program?
To meet with one of our coaches, they can email us at coachlink@emu.edu.

Learn more about the CoachLink program at .

Check out the November drop-in hours below!