Alumna Makes Big Impact Behind the Scenes Through Coaching

Written by Deidra M. Craig 

While Bria Sledge just became a Board Certified Coach, she is not new to coaching.

Sledge graduated from NC State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences in May 2016 with a master’s degree in liberal studies. She then went on to earn a graduate certificate in family life education and coaching in June 2016 from NC State’s Youth, Family, and Community Sciences (YFCS) Graduate Certificate Program in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences.

She currently works with 3^rd and 4^th graders as an after-school coordinator for the extended day program at the Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, N.C. Additionally, Sledge has found a way to merge her love for youth, coaching and training in a manner that is unique and serves the community behind the scenes by working part-time for Kimberly Allen, YFCS director of graduate programs, creating training videos, assignments and other content focused on playground safety training.

“I’m making a lot of materials to put on an online platform so that childcare providers can go online, get training and be certified in playground safety,” says Sledge. “A lot people don’t know what radon is, and a lot people know about asthma but don’t know the things that can cause it, especially in childcare centers, so we want to provide these types of trainings that will target those issues.”

Coaching is an emerging family science field that is becoming a research method for assisting families with identifying and reaching their goals. Sledge received her Board Certified Coach certification in December 2016 and hopes to use it to impact youth, families and stakeholders in her community.

“When people hear about coaching they think about football or something like that,” Sledge says. “Sometimes you have those people who think it’s similar to counseling. But with coaching, it is about being the expert in your own life, and I’m just here to help guide you, and I like that aspect, especially family life coaching.”

Sledge says that the coaching and encouragement she received from her professors in the Youth, Family, and Community Sciences academic program helped her along the way.

“I liked the professors I had, they were so helpful, especially Dr. Allen,” she says. “She encouraged me to get my certificate and provided me with the necessary resources I would need. She has big ideas, and to have someone behind me that is so encouraging and positive, it builds on you.”

Sledge hopes to continue creating content for childcare providers. In addition to the playground safety content she has created, she plans to develop other training materials focused on environmental safety, social behavior, bullying prevention and mental health. She hopes these trainings will help childcare providers, and most importantly, the youth in her community.

This post was originally published in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News.