Engagement Coaching

Supporting students in their engaged learning journey
Engagement Coaches help students become a better version of themselves so they can flourish in the professional setting they choose. Student-centered. Supportive cohorts. Critical life skills. Come explore upcoming opportunities to coach students, all based on real-time engagement and experiential learning projects.

We exist at the crossroads

Personal growth, professional readiness, and community impact often happen at the edges of all disciplines. The Student Engagement Network is a place where students and faculty/staff from all campuses and all colleges can overlap and intersect. Engagement is the glue and common language for student learning and problem solving. The culture is entirely opt-in for both coaches and students, and the course offerings reflect the climate and needs of the moment.

Learn by doing – we believe in experiential learning

All of the student learning experiences practice a mode of learn-by-doing and we routinely experiment and innovate what the engagement course looks like. Within the coaching model, we work alongside students tackling real challenges and activities. Engagement coaches support goal-setting, personal growth, and behavior modification of their students. Coaches help students achieve their goals by encouraging different actions necessary to take control of future plans. As part of the process, coaches will incorporate the FIND YOUR WHY, START YOUR JOURNEY, and GROWTH AREA concepts to support students.

“It’s incredibly inspiring to watch students grow personally and professionally as they walk through these engagement experiences. I have learned so much about student engagement through coaching these amazing students. My higher education career will forever be influenced by my SEN Engagement Coaching experience.”
Tara Walker

Graduate Assistant, Student Engagement Network

“Being an Engagement Coach was a great opportunity to connect with students across a wide array of disciplines and campuses. I truly enjoyed working with and supporting these students through their experiences. Having a cohort to connect with enriched the experience for the students and was invigorating for me to hear about their projects and how they were able to problem solve.”

Marly Doty

Penn State DuBois, Lecturer, Human Development and Family Studies

“Engagement Coaches provide an essential role in a student’s journey through a chosen experience. They are a mentor and a guide through the student’s metacognitive processing of their own growth while amplifying the potential for successful completion of the experience. It’s like having a personal trainer who listens, facilitates strategy-generation when challenges emerge, and encourages critical reflection toward the student’s achievement of personal goals. My favorite part about Engagement Coaching is the coaches’ cohort. We share ideas, wins, solutions, and a sincere passion for whole-student growth through experiential learning.”

Kendall Mainzer

Director of the Arts Ambassadors Leadership Program, College of Arts & Architecture

What is an Engagement Coach?

Engagement coaches are faculty, staff, and sometimes students who support goal-setting, personal growth, and behavior modification of their students. Coaches help students achieve their goals by encouraging different actions necessary to take control of future engaged learning plans. During the Student Engagement Network grant program, for example, coaches will utilize the FIND YOUR WHY, START YOUR JOURNEY, and GROWTH AREA activities to support student learning and prepare them for post-graduation success.

Engagement Coaches use the Student Engagement Network Canvas Course to guide students through a pre-determined engagement experience.