Athletic, creative, dynamic, charming; yet discouraged, unfocused and crest-fallen – she came into my office 4 years earlier, fearful she wouldn’t be able to obtain the 2.0 GPA needed to try out for team sports. Even worse, if she couldn’t compete in sports, then why bother with school? Sports were the only success she knew.
When I asked Jasmine about her grades, she responded “well I got a ‘C’,” lowering her head when asked if the “C” was the good or bad news. Next, I asked, “So what are you good at?” Lighting up like a Christmas tree, she responded “Swimming! I want to be an Olympian. No one can catch me in the water, I swim like a dolphin.”
While she dreaded school, she was willing to do anything that would enable her to back get in...