Building Connections: How My University Journey Fuels My Coaching for Change
Like everyone, I am my own person, but I am also a culmination of my experiences to date, many of which have been supported and influenced by the incredible people who I have had the privilege of learning with and from.
The work I do in the world
When recently working with an incredible coach of my own (Julie Parker), I was reflecting on the work I really want to be doing in the world (Supporting big hearted humans to unwind from capitalism, to live and work in alignment with their values) I realized that so much of this has come from the experiences and supports I have been deeply grateful for, in particular my academic experiences.
The influence of my University experiences
In more ways than one, my University experiences also created a sense of being part of something bigger than myself and an appreciation for relationship building. In my Undergraduate degree, working as a research assistant with Dr Jonathan Langdon, I learned about the messiness of change work. Dr Langdon’s work is grounded in social movement learning, and he was one of the first people I knew to challenge the notion that the efficient, direct option isn’t always the ‘best’. He invited me into powerful community gatherings that took twists and turns, made space for a diversity of voices and prioritized the process over quick outputs. It gave me invaluable insight into what relationship building looks like, sounds like, feels like, and what it takes to hold powerful and supportive spaces.
After completing my BA Honours in Development Studies and Political Science, I briefly worked in International development. While I met some incredible humans, I felt disenchanted by the industry of development and took my feelings of uncertainty back to study to complete my Masters in Adult Education* and Community Development at the University of Toronto. These two years in Toronto gave me so many gifts.
One was a gift of the language to describe the uneasiness of what I felt within the International Development Sector, in particular through the work of Andrea Smith, who’s writing first exposed me to the Non-Profit Industrial Complex** The other was the gift of being held in an incredible community by my Supervisor, renowned Marxist Feminist Scholar, Dr Shahrzad Mojab. She created an environment that fostered growth, connection, critical thinking and expansion.Over our monthly meetings we shared food and always greeted one another with hugs. It was such a powerful example for me of how it is possible to both uphold strong principles, deeply desire and advocate for change AND create a culture of community that is built on love, care and support for one another.
I wanted these feelings of being connected, supported and challenged to be part of my every day. I was tempted to stay in Toronto and contemplated pursuing my Ph.D. and re-creating such communities for future students of my own. Deep down, however, I knew this wasn't my path.
I wanted to be like Shahrzad, but doing it her way didn't make sense to me, and I am only coming to recognise that holding space as a coach allows me to create these beautiful environments that support, challenge and connect those I am privileged to work with.
Finding my own path forward
It has been through working with the brilliant clients I have had the privilege of supporting to date, that I have increasingly come to see coaching as the space I get to bring my passions together.
Witnessing the magic of what coaching has supported for my clients has helped me to increasingly believe that this is the work I am meant to be doing in the world AND has reminded me that we all have our own paths.
It is an honour and privilege to support folks to find their paths and feel good doing so, away from the pressures of how they are ‘supposed to be’ and into the freedom of what they really want for themselves, their loved ones, their communities and the world around them.
If this feels like the kind of support you need right now, I encourage you to check out more info here!
As always, happy to answer any questions or hear your feedback, it is a joy to do this work, thank you for being part of this community xx
With love and gratitude,
Stephanie
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*Do not let the name fool you, Adult Education is a historically rooted approach to fostering social, political and economic change. It uses educational spaces around literacy or other core skills as opportunities to engage communities in collectively cultivating the change they want to see in the world around them. A famous Adult Educator is Paolo Feire, whose most known work is "Pedagogy of the Oppressed."
** I cannot recommend reading Andrea Smith's full Chapter enough (if you have access to Academic Journals, you can download ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Funded’ here). In short, it breaks down how the Non Profit Industry was established as a tax haven for the wealthy, and therefore has an inherent vested interest in maintaining the status quo. I think I need to dedicate an entire post to this too!
