The road I took to discover my passion and purpose was a bit treacherous. After planning to be a teacher from the time I was 5 years old all the way through my junior year of college, a personal struggle, and perhaps fate, led to a change of heart. 

When I developed an eating disorder, which evolved into full-blown anorexia, I was a highly successful Division 1 cross-country runner. The long and painful journey to optimal health forced me to reconsider and re-evaluate every facet of my life, including my vocational goals. I wanted to work with struggling athletes and help others avoid or overcome disordered eating and thought perhaps that dietetics was my calling. 

By taking several nutrition courses and enrolling part-time in a dietetics program, I learned a lot about creating healthy meal plans, the ideal ratio of carbs:protein:fat, and how dangerous eating disorders can be to short-term and long-term health. But, I quickly realized that diet and nutrition are just the tip of the iceberg. When I was an athlete fighting anorexia, I knew, more or less, what a healthy diet looks like. The problem wasn’t that I didn’t know what to eat, but that I wouldn’t eat. That, of course, implicates the study, practice and application of psychology. 

In 2017 I landed a job working as a behavioral health coach (emphasis on the word behavioral). I have not let that job go, and very much love what I do. My job is to empower individuals searching for a healthier lifestyle to overcome the mental barriers telling them that they are not strong enough, that healthy living isn’t in the cards for them, that they don’t belong in the gym, and that they “can’t do it.” In my first year of health coaching I became increasingly aware of how the “wrong” mentality can sabotage goals, and how the “right” mindset can enable us to do just about anything. With this realization and passion for helping others, I completed the coursework and passed an exam to earn the title of National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).

Inspired by the power of behavior change but still holding onto such a burning passion for running and working with athletes, I made the decision to go back to school and earn my master’s degree in something that would allow me to combine these areas of interest. While sport psychology sounded intriguing, it focuses primarily on performance enhancement. So, I chose instead to study Athletic Counseling, which takes a holistic approach in addressing the personal, performance, social, and mental health challenges that athletes face.

All of that brought me to where I am today….a health-coaching, runner-mentoring, blog-writing woman with a major sweet tooth, a lot to say, and a desire to help.