Alana Dorsey, M.A.

Academic Support Specialist

West Virginia State University

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In your time since your LB coaching training experience, how has coaching influenced you and your work as an educator? 

Since completing the 5-day intensive training, the #1 concept that has transformed by academic & success coaching experiences with students has been the implementation of powerful questions. Immediately, I noticed how much the implementation of powerful questions helped make better connections with my students. I was shocked at how much being more intentional with the questions that I asked expanded my students’ thinking and triggered more emotional responses. As a result, this made my job as an academic coach much easier and I built longer working-relationships with my students.

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How has coaching knitted a positive fabric in your department? 

All 3 of us within the Office of Retention and Student Success completed two different LB Coaching Workshops: the 5-day intensive training and the crisis coaching. Those experiences absolutely knitted a common fabric within the academic and success coaching that we do every day. A common challenge that college students are facing is a ‘lack of motivation.’ Within our office, we work to develop habits of mind to support motivation. In addition, we educate our students a lot about fixed vs. growth mindset and the impact it has on their academic success in college.

In this time of systemic racism, how can LB coaching be a tool to build equity, unite citizens, and restore democracy? 

During this time of systematic racism, ‘perspective’ is crucial when preparing students for life outside of college. LB Coaching teaches you how to challenge your students and their mindsets, but also your own. You are trained how to leverage different points of view for opportunity, how to call forth different personal attitudes and mindsets, and how to inspire action through perspective.