Major: Communications

Business: Momentum Coaching & Consulting in Spokane, Wash.

“I am the owner of Momentum Coaching & Consulting. I provide forward-focused, goal-oriented coaching and training to individuals, organizations and cohorts. My life as a professional and mom led to the creation of my business and my passion for coaching others like me; if you look closely, you’ll notice my business logo emphasizes the “Mom” in “Momentum.” I’m passionate about supporting women and moms as they transform their lives. I’m happy to say the logo was created by one of my best friends from St. Norbert College, Kristin (Peterson) McDermott ’06.

“Before starting my business three years ago, I worked in residential life, student conduct and student support services at Gonzaga University for almost 15 years. Much of my work there focused on supporting college students in emerging and crisis situations. As I progressed at Gonzaga, I realized that my true passions lay outside of higher education. I had a fantastic supervisor who suggested I think about coaching.

“I found the Co-Active Training Institute – one of the most rigorous and oldest coaching programs globally – and began to take their courses. One of the most important things I learned there was how to ask great questions. Interestingly, experienced coaches understand that they don’t need to hear answers to those questions! But, by asking the right ones, coaches deepen a client's self-awareness, clarify their goals and create tangible ways for them to act on their discoveries. I get great satisfaction out of that – asking questions that help open up and change a client’s perspective and empower them to follow their dreams. I’ve been in awe watching people from every walk of life – from community organizers and single parents to education administrators and Fortune 500 executives – transform their lives through the power of powerful questions.

“I developed the foundation of my coaching and leadership skills at SNC, in part by co-founding “Colleges Against Cancer” and being an RA. Studying abroad in Australia also proved to be so valuable, most recently when I began coaching teachers around the world as a volunteer with Coaching for Educators. For example, I was able to apply the knowledge from my interpersonal and cultural communications courses at Bond University in my conversations with educators from Nigeria, Brazil, the Netherlands, and more.

“I owe SNC a debt for the excellent mentors I had there. I’m absolutely certain I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of the powerful conversations I had with each of them. They asked great questions, challenged my perceptions, and supported me in reaching farther than I thought I could.

“Three years into my business, I cannot imagine doing anything else. Being an executive and life coach has allowed me to witness and support people in creating personal and professional lives filled with confidence, authenticity and achievement. That’s incredibly rewarding work.”

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