success coach

Off the Clock: Micah Hodges, success coach and local cleanup volunteer

Lauren Reuscher — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 17:34:26 +0000

Off the Clock: Micah Hodges, success coach and local cleanup volunteer Lauren Reuscher Thu, 10/27/2022 - 13:34

Submit a Nomination for Off the Clock

Life is much more than time spent on the clock. In this series, we highlight the unique hobbies and volunteer activities of Mason's talented faculty and staff.

Micah Hodges (left) volunteers at a NOVA Cleanups event with a fellow participant. Photo provided.

Micah Hodges works as a success coach in University Life at ��AV. In this role, Hodges works one-on-one with students to help them discover what success looks like to them. He connects them with resources to help them on their Mason journey and helps them envision their personal, professional, or academic goals. Overall, coaching helps students write their own Mason stories.

Outside of work, Hodges helps sustain and develop something else: our local environment and community spaces. As a volunteer with NOVA and District Cleanups, Hodges works alongside cadres of volunteers who remove trash from public spaces.

How did you first get started with this hobby?

I first got started with trash cleanups in July 2022. I was scrolling through Reddit one day and saw that District Cleanups had been going on for a while. They were planning to expand by making a NOVA Cleanups group (which now has their own subreddit).

What is the time commitment?

NOVA Cleanups meets the first Sunday of every month. By signing up for their email list, you can get information about the next cleanup. From my experience, cleanups usually take place in the morning and last until about noon. After the cleanup, there is usually some kind of informal social, which is optional.

How does the group identify specific locations to clean up?

When I did my first cleanup in Clarendon, the organizers shared that a number of events took place the night before in that area, which is why they chose to clean that area. To be honest, I like the mystery in where each organization chooses. It gets me out of my comfort zone and allows me to see places I have never seen before.

How can others get involved?

People can get involved with the NOVA Cleanups or District Cleanups by visiting their respective websites. You can sign up for their email lists, view upcoming cleanups, and fill out the volunteer waiver. It's very easy to get involved and takes less than five minutes to do so.

What lessons have you learned through this volunteer experience?

Three things come to mind: First, it doesn't take much to make a difference. Your commitment, your attitude, and passion are the three characteristics you need to show up.

Next, step out of your comfort zone. While socialization can be challenging, I find that doing activities like this helps because we are working toward a common goal and doing so for a purpose.

Finally, do something that matches your values and beliefs. I pick up trash because it aligns with my core values. Actively working to make spaces better and cleaner resonates with me. If we can take trash where it needs to go, it makes our world a better place.

What else do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I like to go cycling. I loved riding my bike as a kid, so I wanted to get back to doing something that made me feel like a child again. I also play a musical instrument, the euphonium. I try to get in some practice whenever I can. I also practice yoga and meditation, which have been very grounding for me and give my life a sense of discipline when life gets chaotic.

Topics

Faculty and Staff News

Helping students advance, one coach at a time

Colleen Rich — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Helping students advance, one coach at a time Colleen Rich Wed, 01/22/2020 - 05:00

Mason success coach Sharon Kim advises ADVANCE student Sohail Rashid at Northern Virginia Community College. Photo credit: Lathan Goumas / ��AV

As a student success coach for the ADVANCE Program, the joint admissions partnership between ��AV and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), Sharon Kim divides her work week between Mason’s Fairfax Campus and NOVA’s Annandale Campus.

Her current caseload of about 350 includes online students, adult learners, student-parents, international students and more. ADVANCE has four success coaches, including Kim, and two more are expected to start this spring.

Part of Kim’s job is to guide students and help them stick to their degree plan. But her role doesn’t stop there.

“I try to pay attention to questions students ask, or stories that they share so that I can identify specific support that students will need,” she said.

This means that when a student shares a personal anecdote—explaining that he was late because his child’s babysitter fell through or that she’s unsure about what she wants to do after graduation—the wheels in Kim’s head are turning, and those conversations turn into opportunities to point out resources, such as child care options, or have a discussion about self-assessment and self-interest tools.

“We look at the whole person,” said Kim. “It’s not just about academics—that’s definitely part of it. It’s about life. We try to empower students to remove barriers…every student’s knowledge varies, and meeting them where they are is key to providing support.”

Kim should know. She began her own higher education journey at NOVA and later transferred to Mason, earning her BA in psychology in 2003. She also has an MEd in curriculum and instruction and a graduate certificate in English as a second language, both from Mason.

“I grew up in an immigrant family, so navigating college in the United States was just daunting,” she said. “I try to put myself in the shoes of students because I went through that process.”

Nothing like the ADVANCE Program existed when Kim was pursuing her bachelor’s degree. Now just over a year old, ADVANCE is one of the first programs of its kind.

An aligned curriculum for specific majors ensures that students waste neither time nor money on excess credits at NOVA or Mason. Dedicated support staff, including Kim, guide the students every step of the way.

That highly focused support that the coaches offer is one of the reasons the program has been successful, according to Ashlie Prioleau, executive director of ADVANCE.

“There’s one source that’s telling students how to go from point A to point B consistently,” said Prioleau. “The success coaches are generalists, but they also have to be the masters over their students’ experience as well.”

Given the diversity of the ADVANCE students Kim has seen so far, she’s learned that creating a trusting relationship is the one universal key to being a successful coach.

“It’s important to understand students’ prior experience, identify their potential roadblocks, anticipate student needs,” she said. But a success coach can only take students so far, she added

“I feel very rewarded when students actually exercise their autonomy and do research about…the topic discussed during our coaching session. Because coaching is not just about providing the information…but also [students] taking initiative of what they want to do.”

Explore ADVANCE opportunities

Mason Provides Access to a Great Education