Meet Kristin Clark | Student Success Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Clark and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I get asked the question: Why did you decide to start a business helping students find their best career interests, my answer comes easily. I just couldn’t get out of bed and go to work one more day in a job I hated. I was in a high corporate position making very good money, recognized for being really good at my job and I hated it. But I didn’t know why or what to do. I didn’t know how to find what would be satisfying or make me happy. I only knew I was miserable. Then I found CliftonStrengths. Light bulbs went off. I saw why I was so miserable, and it saved me from a job I hated and a life that was getting harder and harder to live. I finally found a way to identify and give words to my strengths and talents and it opened up a whole new world. I could not stop talking about it and sharing, and I haven’t looked back since. I went on a mission to get people to take this assessment and within a few months became a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. My boys were also nearing the college search process, and I saw them getting little guidance from their school. Another light bulb! CliftonStrengths could help them find a direction. Conventional wisdom says go to college and figure out your path when you get there. I am a maverick at heart, and I say no. Flip that process and let’s figure out possible career paths with the help of your Strengths and then figure out the majors that support that choice and a college that offers those courses. That’s why Kristin Clark Coaching and & Consulting was born. My goal is simple: I want kids to discover that they can do something they love, where they wake up every day and it’s not work. That is pure joy for me.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Kristin is seasoned marketing expert, Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, mentor, public speaker, entrepreneur. She ran corporate marketing departments for twenty years and over the last nine years has been the most requested coach through Everwise, a professional mentoring company. Through these experiences Kristin found her love for mentoring young people. Kristin founded Kristin Clark Coaching and College Planning Untangled. She has been working with students to help guide them to determine the right college major and ultimately a career they love through understanding themselves and their natural talents. Most families jump right into the middle of the college planning process, helping their child get into college through an ACT/SAT, college application or essay writing coach. I’ve learned that students that know why they want to go to college and what they want as an end result have a better chance of graduating from college and within four years. 30% of students do not go back to college after their freshman year. A big reason is due to a lack of planning (financial and not sure of major). Only 40% of college students graduate with a four year degree in four years. We help students determine a career path and ultimately a major that supports that decision. Based on this students can go to college with the confidence they are on the right path and can get more precise on their career choice as they get more exposure to classes at college.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
You can’t visit the Dallas/Fort Worth area without taking your best bud to one of our professional sports teams (whoever is playing at the time or a TCU game works too!) Visiting the Fort Worth stockyards or a rodeo is a big draw and enjoying one of our local TexMex and BBQ restaurants. Hard Eight, Bartonville Feed Store, MiCocina and Esparzas are usually on the short list! As long as you can sit on a patio and grab a long neck or a Margarita you are good to go! I also like showing my guests the Mustangs in Las Colinas, the Dallas Arboretum and the George Bush Library on the SMU campus.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Steve Clark, my husband, for trusting me and for giving me the space to jump into owning my own business and weathering the risk that comes with that process.

Website: www.KristinClark.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinclarktx/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristinClarkCoaching
Other: https://www.facebook.com/collegeplanninguntangled

Image Credits
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