The 2023 Workshop season marked a milestone for our PeerForward Coach Development program. This summer three Coaches earned Certified Coach status: Phillips Percy, Baja Poawui, and Brayan Murguia! Becoming a Certified Coach is a monumental achievement within PeerForward, marking a mastery of youth leadership training and instructional facilitation. The road to Certified Coach status is not an easy one. Earning this title requires approximately 3 years’ worth of extensive training and session facilitation.
Phillips Percy, Baja Poawui, and Brayan Murguia each had their own private ceremony to celebrate their achievements and reminisce about their PeerForward journey. All three of our newly Certified Coaches are Alumni of the program, first engaging in PeerForward’s program as Peer Leaders. After years of participating in workshops as Alumni Team Members, volunteers, or staff, each built connections to Alumni, Coaches, trainers, volunteers, and staff members. During their certification ceremonies, the individuals they share strong connections with expressed their admiration, pride, and support. The Certified Coaches were then introduced as such on the final day of their respective Workshops, solidfying their role with the entire PeerForward community, allowing the Peer Leaders to take a moment to congratulate them as well.
PeerForward Coaches help students build leadership skills and knowledge to help their classmates navigate postsecondary education, but our Certified Coaches take that role a step further. A Certified PeerForward Coach is an individual who has done, and continues to do, the personal and professional assessment of self in order to provide service to others. Our Certified Coaches have shown and demonstrated competence in personal and professional development, accountability, curriculum delivery, effective coaching, and group facilitation. In order to prepare for this prestigious position, Certified PeerForward Coaches must spend over 300 hours in facilitation reps and receive over 100 hours of training by PeerForward Coach Trainers. This additional training helps them in interacting with the Peer Leaders on a deeper level. With their help, our students are able to unpack why leadership is important, what it means to be a leader, and why they should strive to be a leader in their community. This crucial knowledge helps our Peer Leaders recognize why they became a Peer Leader, which in turn leads to higher levels of dedication to our mission.
Congratulations again to Phillips Percy, Baja Poawui, and Brayan Murguia! Your PeerForward family is so proud of you and your growth. It has been a long journey to reach Certified Coach status, and we can’t think of anyone more deserving of the title!
