Meet Gloria and her coach, Cynthia
A new spin on the coach/learner relationship
An InsideTrack coach and her student inspire each other to follow their dreams
Gloria Goldstein has never been one to give up. Yet when she returned to nursing school after several years to earn her four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), she found herself on the verge of doing just that. “I didn’t have the organizational skills to be a full-time student, employee, mom and wife,” she said. “I never quit anything, but at the beginning of the program, it was so challenging to manage everything that it made me want to quit. That’s when I called Cynthia.”
“I never quit anything, but at the beginning of the program, it was so challenging to manage everything that it made me want to quit. That’s when I called Cynthia.” – Gloria Goldstein, MSN
Cynthia Brinkman was Gloria’s InsideTrack coach. Their sessions focused on helping Gloria with time management and dealing with the immense pressure of juggling work, school, and life. Then came the call when Gloria hit a particularly big bump in the road. Cynthia remembers thinking, “Here we have a bilingual Latina nurse who is about to get her BSN and I’m like ‘Gloria, you can’t give up on this dream you’ve had for 10 years!’ As it turned out, that phone call was very powerful — for student and coach.
Flipping the coach/student script
For both of them, that heartfelt conversation was a true “aha” moment. As Gloria remembers it, “That appointment was lifesaving. It kept me on track to finish my bachelor’s degree, and then my master’s degree.” It represented a turning point for Gloria, giving her the support she needed to keep going and not give up.
“That appointment was lifesaving.” – Gloria Goldstein, MSN
The conversation’s effect was also life-changing for Cynthia, reminding her of her own buried aspiration. “When I hung up the phone, I thought ‘why was that so powerful for me?’” That’s when Cynthia realized it was because of her own long-held desire to go into medicine, “something I put off 20 years ago when my mom died when I was in college.” So her passionate encouragement of Gloria ended up spurring the start of Cynthia’s own nursing school journey.
Mutual support, inspiration, admiration
It’s immediately evident how much of a positive impact these impressive women have had on each other. “Prior to knowing Cynthia, I didn’t have a lot of self-confidence in myself,” Gloria shares. “She’s the one who has given me that confidence. She’d tell me ‘You can do this. You got it’.” Cynthia’s support helped carry Gloria through her toughest times in school.
“Prior to knowing Cynthia, I didn’t have a lot of self-confidence in myself. She’s the one who has given me that confidence.” – Gloria Goldstein, MSN
When Gloria heard about Cynthia’s decision to start nursing school, she was as excited as she was supportive, going on to say, “My chest swelled with pride for her.” Cynthia shares that Gloria would send her emails saying, “You’re gonna be a great nurse…but I’m also sad that students are losing you.”
With an expressed desire to inspire people interested in nursing to become nurses, Gloria can already take credit for one career change. “Nurses become nurses because we want to heal people and make them feel better,” she says. Because Cynthia, even as a coach, always knew how to make her feel better, Gloria is certain Cynthia has what it takes for a career in nursing. “Cynthia is going to be so great for her patients!”
