The Story of My First Client

When I first started working as a consultant, I knew one of the hardest things at the beginning of growing my practice would be finding my first family to work with.  Surprisingly, I found someone soon after I started looking! I felt so fortunate that this family decided to take a chance on me, considering I was new to consulting.

We soon got started on learning more about each other and understanding how her family worked.  I know that by beginning with an understanding of where everyone is at in the process, and in life, we can all work better together.

I had the opportunity to begin working with her at the start of her junior year of high school.  Junior year means college lists and testing! This student had great grades and a positive attitude - but those alone don’t make this process easy, unfortunately.

Even as a high-achieving student, the ACT did not come easy to her.  She struggled and worked hard to study for about six months. She ended up taking it on three different occasions during that time until she achieved a score she was proud of.  Through the whole process, I remember having short phone call check-ins and text message conversations with all of her ups and downs. Some days she felt great about the progress she was making, and would use the word “proud” to describe how she was feeling.  Other days, she felt like there was no point. I appreciated knowing she felt comfortable enough coming to me to share not only the good feelings, but the bad feelings as well.

After she received the score to her third (and final) ACT, she sent me a text message.  I remember being so exciting to see the words “I’m proud of myself” come across my screen!  That kind of growth is huge, and something I was so honored to be a part of.

In addition to all of the testing fun during her junior year, we slowly started chipping away at her college list.  As she learned more about herself, we’d eliminate schools we determined not to be a good fit for her or her future goals.  When we first made a list for her, I know there’s no way she would be able to imagine how her list had become so focused and specific to her.  That’s part of her growth over a year’s time!

My work with this student and her family has proven to be so rewarding.  I have truly enjoyed witnessing her self-discovery as she grows more independent - and can’t wait to see how she continues to grow!