From the very happy mother of a very happy client!
'This time last year I asked you to see our daughter, an unemployed grad, dispirited, dishearted, deskilled and depressed. You were amazing; I couldn't believe the difference when she came home that afternoon. You gave her so much in that short time, helping her to reconnect with her self confidence, her skills and her values, but most of all, I think you legitimised her position and helped her see the way forward. She identified strongly with your 'build it bit by bit' model and the fact that you held yourself up as someone who had trodden a similar path. So what happened? Christmas was much happier. We talked around the fitness instructor idea and eventually she opted for a three month PT, exercise coach and sports massage course. She threw herself into it and lost at least 2 stone in the process. She then tramped around all the gyms in *****, had the guts to turn down a job with **** and is currently freelancing. She loves the job, really gets behind the 'strugglers' and is really upbeat and happy. So I really can't thank you enough for your magic mix of empathy, advice, counselling, careers guidance and encouragement.'
From students at Bath Spa University's mature students' Return to Learning day:
'I'd just like to begin by saying that you are a truly inspirational female role model and one which I hope to emulate closely.Your talk on study skills was invaluable and I only wish I had heard it two years ago when my degree began! I'm very lucky in that I achieve very good grades for all my written work and am as a whole a confident person; be that as it may I still feel your course offers students pieces of advice which can only be described as gold dust!'
From a very happy graduate who achieved a 2:1 after some last minute coaching:
'Before I began working with Tracy on my undergraduate degree at Bristol University, I was really struggling with my workload. I was unfocused and had received no guidance on my work from my department, and subsequently was under confident and under performing in my written work and essays. I came to Tracy through a personal contact who had told me how much she could help me improve. By the time I contacted her, over halfway through my final year, I wasn’t sure I could turn my grades around. At the end of our first session, I was quite simply amazed. In front of me was an essay plan I had written entirely myself: Tracy had just asked me the right questions and I had found that I knew the answers. After just a few short sessions, my work had completely turned around. I knew how to answer questions, was giving clear and focused answers and found myself enjoying writing my essays and dissertation. After getting mid 2:2s throughout the vast majority of my University course, I found myself getting high 2:1s and 1sts in my few remaining essays and exams. I graduated in July with a 2:1 degree, and I honestly believe that I would not have done this without Tracy’s help. She taught me how to focus and detail my essays and exam revision, but more than anything else she gave me the confidence in my own ability to produce the work I was capable of all along. Calling Tracy and using Brainbox Coaching was the best decision I made throughout my University course, and I cannot thank Tracy enough for her guidance, support, encouragement and kindness during those few sessions in a café.' (M. Theology graduate)
On self-protection training, from Channel View Publications:
http://channelviewpublications.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/personal-safety-workshop/#comment-519
“Tracy ran a "self-protection for solo travellers" afternoon course with me and my team. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, and we learned a lot about how to keep ourselves from getting into difficult situations, how to de-escalate a potentially problematic situation, and if the worst comes to the worst, some very basic moves to get away. Although we handled some difficult and frankly frightening scenarios, Tracy handled these with sensitivity, while impressing upon us how important they were. I'll certainly be much more self-aware as I walk around my home city, let alone any foreign or strange places, and hopefully if I've learned half of the key points Tracy taught, I won't ever need to use the other half of them! But it's nice to know that I have that other half as a back up. I feel more confident asking my colleagues to travel around the world on our behalf, knowing that they have the knowledge to keep themselves from getting into dangerous situations. We'll certainly be asking Tracy to come back and work with us again.” (Tommi Grover, Channel View Publications)
"Tracy has helped me with my essays during my Master degree at the University of Bristol. I failed two essays in the first semester and received a distinction for my dissertation. Without Tracy I could not have achieved this result. My first semester at the University of Bristol was a complete disaster; I failed two essays (49 and 40%) and had to resubmit 2 essays in May. I was looking for someone who could help me and teach me how to write academic essays. I started working with Tracy in March. Tracy taught me the skills of academic writing, which was a complete eye opener to me. Not only has Tracy helped me with my writing but she also gave me confidence. I have received all merits for my essays in the second semester and a distinction (75%) for my dissertation. On top of this, I have been asked to publish the results of my research. As from the above, you can see that Tracy has helped me to succeed. Therefore I would truly recommend Tracy as a coach. Thank you so much Tracy and see you on my graduation!" (International Masters student who received a distinction)
"A very big thank you for all your support and advice during my Master's course. You helped me evaluate and improve my writing skills. Your guidance was vital for me in an extremely difficult year where I had to revise and restructure the way that I am thinking and writing. I was always looking forward for our sessions as they helped me to make decisions and move forward. One of the most important things I feel that I learnt through coaching sessions is to constantly question and reevaluate the way that I'm presenting my arguments. Thank you again very much for being there and supporting me!!!! (postgraduate international student who achieved an A grade for their Masters thesis)"
"10 out of 10!" "Best workshop on goal setting I have ever been to!", "Great way to spend a Saturday!", "I think the magic dust worked and I woke up as a different person" (all from the Confidence Coaching day for women professionals)
"Since starting my sessions with Tracy I have been able to incorporate the various demands of my training programme into my university life which, instead of hindering my studies, has actually complemented them. Tracy has helped my training programme and academic work to become much more structured and therefore efficient. My general attitude to studying, training, future career aspirations and relationships has become much more positive and the weekly sessions with Tracy has given me an opportunity to talk confidentially about many different issues. Overall, I have a much more pro-active and positive outlook to life since starting my sessions with Tracy." (High Performance Squad member)
"I just wanted to say GREAT THANKS for the brilliant advice you gave us during the Academic Writing Skills session that I attended nearly 2 weeks ago. I could never believe that one can write an essay without mental pain, ten cups of tea and a bagful of biscuits to cheer oneself up during the ordeal. My recent essay has been going on quite differently [...] Despite the rather long time spent on planning, I have finished the essay in half the time I would otherwise have done. Exchanging agonising over yet another unstructured paragraph for a refreshing walk to a park is more than I could ever ask for! Once again, thank you very much !!!!!!!!!!! :)" (undergraduate international student)
"A huge thank you from the Leadership Foundation for your superb session at the Introduction to Higher Education Conference. It is always a joy to see you present and the participant feedback after the session commented on your engaging approach and professionalism. Given the fact that you had the late afternoon slot it is a credit to you that people had so many questions and were not clamouring to get out for dinner! We look forward to inviting you to our next national event in September." (Kate Tapper, Programme Director)
"Thank you very much for coming into Prior Park yesterday to speak to our students on university expectations and study skills. The students gained a great deal from your two lectures, so thank you for all the time you put into preparing them." (Prior Park College, Bath)
"I spent a number of months seeing Tracy and to sum it up in one word….amazing! I was having difficulties during my second year at university and had tried everything, or at least I thought I had till I met Tracy. She is a truly unique and inspiring individual who can help anyone who is willing and wanting to help themselves. There aren’t words to really portray my gratitude to Tracy! Thank you so much for everything." (Undergraduate student)
"I came to a couple of your courses last year and am still eulogising about them!" (Mature student)
Coaching for confidence, career, study & self-defence