Coaching Spotlight: Leosandra De Los Santos

Leosandra is a graduate of USES’s Training for Office Jobs and a current Coaching participant. She recently answered a few questions about her experience in coaching and setting goals. Although Leossandra achieved her goal of obtaining full-time employment, she continues to work with a coach to stay on track:

"Coaching has been helping me a lot. It has helped me set goals that I thought were going to be difficult for me to achieve. I did not know where and how to start. Coaching has given me ideas and suggestions on how to follow through."

Keep reading to hear more about Leosandra's experience with coaching!

Tell us about yourself and your background.

My name is Leosandra De Los Santos. I am a single parent of two girls (16 and 12 yrs. old). Before I joined the TOJ program at USES I was unemployed. Previously I worked at The Salvation Army for almost 11 years. I became unemployed on September 14, 2019 and joined the TOJ program on October 12, 2019. I decided to join the TOJ program because I knew I needed a fresh start and I knew I had the potential. I was unsure of how to start, but TOJ had the tools that I needed to start a new path to secure my daily living for me and my daughters.

How did you become involved in coaching?

Shortly after joining TOJ I started meeting with a coach at USES. One my first goals was to become gainfully employed, which I achieved after a short time in both programs. Although I am working full time there are still a lot of goals I have set for myself. For this reason I continue to find time to work with a coach at USES.

How is coaching helping you?

Coaching has been helping me a lot. It has helped me set goals that I thought were going to be difficult for me to achieve. I did not know where and how to start. Coaching has given me ideas, and suggestions on how to follow through.

What is your favorite part of coaching?

That my coach does not leave me to figure everything out on my own. Coaching makes you feel like you’re not alone. My coach follows up with me to see how I am doing and how she can continue to help me. Also, I like having consistent meetings to show that I am committed to achieving my goals and that I'm working on them every day.

What would you tell others they would get out of coaching?

Coaching helps you to set goals and walks you through the path of resources that helps you achieve your goals and be successful. It is hard; they don't tell you it's going to be easy, but coaching supports you along the way to achieve your goals. With your effort and their help, you can achieve your goals.