By: Jamison Wagner, Staff Reporter | Photo By: Jamison Wagner
Achievement Coaches can offer solutions and assistance to students facing problems in getting their degrees, said Monika Monje, achievement coach for Math, Science and Engineering.
There are 20 achievement coaches in the CNM community. Some are with CNM Connect; others are specific to certain schools such as Communications, Humanities, Social Sciences or Math, Science and Engineering, said Rob Carriaga, Trio achievement coach and Communications instructor.
One of the services the achievement coaches normally provide is workshops to assist students in building skills in different areas, she said. Some of the more popular workshops help students with time management or with test anxiety, said Monje.
“We used to have more workshops but we are currently revamping them over the summer so we will have a smaller number. For example, we are combining our note-taking skills workshop with study skills. We are also merging our how to manage test-taking anxiety with our test-taking skills workshop,” she said.
Even if students cannot attend the workshops, coaches can work with them on a one-to-one basis in these areas, she said. The coaches can sit down with the student and help to solve scheduling issues, she said.
CNM Connect has the Advantage Scholarship and the book scholarship and any achievement coach can help a student get that, she said.
“As far as campus resources go, one of the things we can help with is scholarships. We can help with the getting the Rust Scholarship for a student by writing the letter for them to get that scholarship,” she said.
The school coaches can also assist students who are trying to register for classes for a third or fourth time, as the students need special permission to do this and the coaches can help them get that, she said.
“We will also do follow-up appointments when a student has had to re-take a class to make sure the student will be able to pass and help them if they are having trouble,” she said.
Students wanting help from an achievement coach can set an appointment or drop by a coach’s office during walk-in hours, she said.
An achievement coach’s main goal is to help students succeed, said Carriaga.
“When working with students we help establish their needs, desires and goals pretty clear on what they want, but not necessarily clear on how to get it,” he said. Some students are
For example, if a student wanted to be a nurse and was having problems passing a nursing class needed for the degree, the student could meet with an achievement coach to discuss options, he said.
“My starting point is usually a question intended to find out what the student thinks is his or her strong points and compare them to the weak points so I can help the student work out what they need to do to pass,”” he said.
Visit cnm. e d u / d e p t s . / achievement-coach for a list of phone numbers.
