A team approach: CSF advisors and coaches pull together for students

CSF is honored to be a community partner for UW’s Pull Together Campaign–a campaign celebrating students’ bold endeavors while showcasing what can be achieved when we pull together to empower youth.

The relationships built with CSF Scholars are built for longevity. For most students, their experience with the CSF program pathway starts in middle school or high school–which can potentially lead to more than 10 years of educational guidance and support for the more than 24,000 students served annually by CSF. The connections students make with their advisors or coaches can last into their careers and through adulthood.

The CSF-Yakima advisor team at A.C. Davis High School includes Maria Ureña, Isai Hernandez, Danny Herrera and Elvira Lopez and supports over 2,000 students. “My colleagues Isai and Danny are actually CSF alums who I supported as students when they were at Davis,” Maria recalls. A testament to the strong connections that were made more than a decade ago.

Working now as a team, they collectively invest time in fostering relationships with students. These bonds help create a college-going environment in the high school where students are receptive to information delivered through various channels such as classroom presentations, workshops, evening events for students and families, and after-school support sessions. 

When building community, it’s also crucial to have a firm foundation of support among our partners. But, it’s not just about having a community of support, it’s about being in community with our partners and sharing goals for the students we enthusiastically rally around. Whether it’s working to set up a visit to travel across the state from Yakima to the University of Washington campus or holding a community-based event in support of increasing FAFSA completion rates for its’ local students, CSF Scholars feel their community pulling for them to succeed.

“We’re definitely the go-to people here at Davis for helping students with college fit and match, college admissions, and all the financial aid information,” Maria explains. “But, we also work very closely with high school and college staff and our community partners to provide that extra support to students.”

CSF-Yakima recently teamed up to put on a financial aid jumpstart event for Davis and Eisenhower High Schools with ESD 105, South Central Washington STEM and Central Washington University at the Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center. Students and families learned about the new FASFA changes and then they were able to create either their FSA ID or their WASFA profile.

CSF Scholars, like Melissa, feel the validating effects of the team approach during educational milestones like applying for and visiting colleges, high school graduation and entering college. It’s during this time when CSF high school advisors and college coaches come together to help ensure a soft landing for first-year students.

“We want all students to have a smooth transition into college,” Maria declares. “In the spring, CSF’s college coaches come in to talk to students who are planning on attending the various colleges and help to finalize that transitional work, whether it is housing, financial awards, you name it. Then, just after graduation, the students are officially connected with their coaches so that when they get to college they know a familiar face who can help.”

Building a sense of place and belonging at college

Feeling that you belong in college and have a place on campus can make all the difference for college students to keep progressing towards their degree. For some, the notion of “I can see myself here” can start as early as a first campus visit for others might take a while longer to find their footing and to make college feel like a second home.

Rosalynn Guillén, Kyle Dương, Paul Phạm, and Gaby Ibañez make up CSF’s coaching team at UW. The colleagues lean on each other’s subject matter expertise and personal experiences to help students navigate matters like: carving out time to study, having a social life, finding transportation, balancing finances, picking classes, choosing a major and settling on an internship.

As a UW alum and first-gen student herself, Rosalynn helps debunk any imposter syndrome feelings students may reveal to her during check-ins: “I always tell students, ‘You don’t need to impress me. You don’t need to put on a face. You don’t need to show me that you’re worthy to be where you are, because you are worthy.’”

The “secret sauce” to building trust, creating community and ultimately encouraging persistence for college students is CSF’s successful coaching model. The model was studied by RTI International over a three-year period. They evaluated CSF’s coaching impact¹ and found that 92% of students said their coach played a role in their persistence; 88% of students said their coach taught them how to find support or resources; and 96% of students reported growth in knowledge, skills and awareness.

“The coaching model is really what opens up for that very strong relationship building,” Rosalynn indicates. “Because we’re not prescriptive, we’re not just one lane, students can talk about anything that they want. We serve the whole student. Once they understand that, they don’t have to impress us. They can talk about whatever is concerning them and unpack it in a safe place. I think that is what lends itself to those really meaningful and deep connections.”

Additionally, the coaching team also supports CSF’s UW Club, a student-led campus group of CSF Scholars who meet monthly to plan events for the community of students like their back-to-school bowling outing, a recent succulent planting social event, or convenient in-person check-ins with coaches at the UW Hub. This team of peers also helps to create activities that nurture a sense of belonging on campus for the large number of CSF Scholars who attend UW from every region of the state.

Keeping connections strong back home

Home for The Holidays is an annual event that was created for CSF Scholars who return home to Yakima for the winter break from their respective colleges, including UW, Central Washington University, Yakima Valley College, Washington State University, Eastern Washington University and more. The social gathering is a chance for students to meet up with their friends from high school, check in with life updates with CSF coaches and former high school advisors, and just have some fun with friends after finishing their finals. In addition to music, games, winter crafts and gingerbread building, students will partake in a catered lunch by hometown favorite Tacos el Ray and have a chance to win awesome raffle prizes.

Community-building events like these help to maintain peer-to-peer relationships that can start to build important personal and professional networks and strengthen bonds with advisors and coaches. This year, many of CSF’s college coaches, including Paul and Gaby from UW, will travel to Yakima to join in the festivities and meet up with their students in their home environment.

¹Research Triangle Institute ”College Completion Coaching: Promising Practices from the College Success Foundation,” 2022