Scarlett Ruppert – “You’re Health Coaching even when you’re not Health Coaching.”

Scarlett is currently a 2nd year student in UNCG’s Masters of Public Health Education program. Additionally, she is a Graduate Assistant with HealthyUNCG (UNCG’s employee wellness program) and interning with Elon BrainCARE.  She initially found health coaching through her job at HealthyUNCG. Their program has an initiative that gives free health coaching to employees. She wanted to be a part of that program, so she attended the Health Coach Training.

Scarlett sees “being there” as one of the most significant changes she has made in the way she communicates with people. She reflected on the way that she would sometimes interact with clients:  “you don’t realize you’re sitting there thinking about what to tell them to do.” Instead, she now focuses on actively and nonjudgmentally listening. While her work doesn’t always include direct coaching, she finds herself using those skills regularly. Her work at HealthyUNCG includes facilitating focus groups, interviewing employees, performing fitness assessments, and presenting on healthy habits.  In each of these duties, she finds that communication and authentic presence are key components for success.

After finishing her degree, Scarlett would like to work in student or employee wellness. She has used her education and work experiences so far to build up and round out her skills and knowledge base to be ready to assist individuals and organizations in their wellness goals.

An unexpected benefit of the health coaching training for Scarlett was a new friend! While practicing to get her coaching certificate, Scarlett worked with another woman from the program. As “buddy coaches,” her peer was able to help Scarlett work through her own health goals, and the two of them have stayed in contact.