{"id":59937,"date":"2025-10-23T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=59937"},"modified":"2025-10-23T10:33:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T14:33:40","slug":"qa-with-karissa-sanford-coach-for-emus-coachlink-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/qa-with-karissa-sanford-coach-for-emus-coachlink-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Karissa Sanford, coach for EMU\u2019s CoachLink program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Whether students need someone to listen, help them stay organized, talk through a challenge, or understand what\u2019s getting in their way, CoachLink is here to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Offered at EMU 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 EMU students at no cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CoachLink has been completely rebooted this year, with three new coaches joining the program. We talked to one of those coaches, Karissa Sanford<\/strong>, to learn all about the program and how it supports students on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is CoachLink?<\/strong> We walk alongside students and meet them where they\u2019re 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\u2019t want to be A+ students and that\u2019s fine. We\u2019ll help you become the best B+ student on campus if that\u2019s your goal. We want to help you get there, but overall, we want you to graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who is it for?<\/strong> CoachLink is for anybody. You don\u2019t have to be in a bad spot or struggling. We\u2019re here for students in whatever way they need to get connected to talk, so we\u2019re always a resource that\u2019s available to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Has there been a lot of interest from students?<\/strong> We\u2019re starting to pick up because we\u2019re at the point in the semester where students start to identify that what they\u2019re 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\u2019re doing might not necessarily be wrong. It\u2019s just not working for them, and so it\u2019s all about trying different techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Where were you before coming to EMU?<\/strong> I\u2019m 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\u2019s degree in elementary education). My mom and I just moved here in May, so I\u2019m new to Harrisonburg, new to EMU, and new to this role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
In addition to Sanford, Valarie Ghant<\/strong> and Celeste Thomas<\/strong> serve as the other two CoachLink coaches. Learn more about the coaches here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/10\/22142313\/Untitled_Artwork-2-1005x1024.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/10\/22142409\/Screenshot-2025-09-11-at-10.21.05%E2%80%AFAM-1024x477.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/10\/22142533\/Untitled_Artwork-701x1024.jpeg\"){kind=spacer}
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/10\/22142724\/Drop-in-Coachlink-Nov-25-1-768x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"