Kayci's Story
It’s 2:00 pm on a Thursday, and Ava comes into my office... again… It’s the 3rd time that week. Ava has been dealing with some issues in her 5th-grade classroom, and it only seems to be accelerating. You see, Ava feels like her teacher doesn’t like her, that he calls her out in front of the whole class, and that she can’t do anything right. As her school counselor, I should be able to support her, advocate for her, and ultimately help her get through her school days. So why am I feeling that no matter what I do, it just doesn’t seem to facilitate a change?
Those are the feelings I would commonly have while I was an elementary school counselor, and quite frankly, it was daunting at times. Why was it that I would hit all of these barriers and obstacles when my first and foremost job as a school counselor was to support my students? I would talk with teachers constantly and have to juggle both hearing and validating their perspectives while also getting them to see where their student was coming from. Sometimes, it doesn’t even really matter what is actually happening, but what the student believes is happening. Their perspective is their reality. And when their perspective is that their teacher doesn’t like them, it’s true in their eyes. And that is what we have to work with.
Now, don’t get me wrong... I would say most of my years as a school counselor were very rewarding and I learned A LOT about working with kids, teachers and parents. And when I think about those teachers who listen to their students, who validate them and go out of their way to truly help them, it warms my heart and it reinforces my belief that a teacher can be one of the most important and influential people in a child’s life. I admire these teachers. They have one of the hardest jobs, and we all know how underpaid and under-appreciated they are times a million. These teachers are simply amazing, and the schools need more of them!
While I loved the time I got to spend with kids at school, it just wasn't fulfilling enough for me in the way that I wanted. Little did I know that the opportunity was staring me right in the face....
Let’s backtrack to my school counseling internship, where I met Diane. She was the school counselor I interned with, and right from the start, we were a good pair! We had the same beliefs and passion for helping kids, and I learned so much watching her interact with kids. I also got to see the transition from school counselor to life coach as she was working on her coaching certificate the year I interned with her. The following year she started her business full time, and I continued my counseling journey as her successor.
Fast forward through the years, and Diane and I have stayed extremely close both professionally and personally. (She was one of only 50 I invited to my wedding!) Watching Diane’s success in her first years as a life coach for kids gave me the drive and determination to do the same. I could see how much more I could help kids in this capacity than I ever could in a broken school system, and I saw how many families desperately needed services other than counseling and therapy.
And that is one reason why Uniquely Wired Kids was born….
We want other coaches to experience what it's truly like to coach kids. Kids need more coaches who will work with them, who will understand them, and who will help them.
Kids need YOU!
For kids,
Kayci and Diane
Uniquely Wired Kids, LLC
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