Meet Coach Kati
If you’ve found my page, welcome. I’m glad you’re here, even if we never work together.
My name is Kati Stoddard. I wear many hats. I am a life and wellness coach, award-winning instructional professor, a mom, a runner, a spouse, a friend, and so much more. My mission is to help women find their way back to themselves to live intentional, authentic, courageous, and phenomenal lives. I will tell you part of my story here, so you can know some of who I am. For the full story, you’ll have to follow along with my newsletter (and later my podcast), where I’ll share empowering ideas for living your fullest life with examples I draw from my own story.
As a life coach, my goal is to help you identify your strengths, clarify your goals, and develop a plan to achieve them with guidance and support.
From 9-5, Monday – Friday, I work as an Associate Instructional Professor and an Associate Director of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Texas A&M University. I’ve spent my entire academic career investing in professional development to become a master teacher, and it’s paid off. I sailed through my first promotion from Instructional Assistant Professor to Instructional Associate Professor without a hitch. I’ve created highly engaging and transformational college courses that focus on deep lasting learning and development of the whole student, rather than rote memorization of facts. Due to my investment in pedagogy (or methods and practices of teaching) and commitment to being the best teacher I can be, I was asked to be an Associate Director for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at the Center for Teaching Excellence at my university. There, I help other faculty expand their understanding of pedagogy and the learning sciences so they can improve their courses and teaching approach.
In my professional career, I’ve noticed a troubling trend with my colleagues both within academia and in other fields, including stay-at-home parents. I’ve watched many friends and colleagues sacrifice their health, personal passions, and personal lives for their jobs (i.e. whatever work they do during the day). As people age and take on more responsibilities, it seems they invest less in themselves and put their needs and desires on the back burner.
I’ve heard the following phrases more times than I can count:
“I am burned out at work”
“Why is “adulting” so hard?”
“I can’t seem to be happy with my work”
“I used to [fill in the blank with a fun hobby] before I had kids”
“I don’t know what I’m doing with my life”
“I’ll eat better (sleep more, exercise more, practice self-care, etc.) when the kids are older (I get the next promotion, this project at work finishes, etc.)”
If this sounds familiar, read on.
Arcturus Coaching is my passion project that I started in 2022 when I was pregnant with my second child. I completed my Associate Wellness Life Coach training through Coach Training EDU the week after my child was born and I completed my CliftonStrengths Global Strengths Coach certification the week before my child was born. Yes, it was a busy time for me as a pregnant mom. Coaching started as a “pregnancy project” and grew into much more for me.
I am normally a very active person. Before my first child was born I competed in triathlons, finishing many sprint and Olympic triathlons, two half Ironmans, and 1 full Ironman (Ironman Maryland in 2016). With two kiddos, a full-time job, and a healthy marriage I invest in, I decided to pivot to focus on only running, since that’s my true passion anyway. During my pregnancies, I wasn’t able to run past the first trimester due to issues with my hips, growing belly, weakening abs, and softening of my tendons and ligaments. Running was my outlet and movement meditation, so I needed a project to occupy my mind and energy when I couldn’t run. So I signed up for a coach training course (two in fact) and set to work learning a new skill. Clients I’ve worked with have ranged in age from early 20s to mid to late 50s. I especially love helping women identify their strengths and passions and helping them to design the life of their dreams.
If you feel stuck, feel like you don’t know what to do next or what comes next, feel like you wish you had more energy and more time, and are ready to start investing in yourself, I’d love to talk with you. What I’ve learned through coaching and therapy is that “self-love” and “self-care” are not selfish. In fact, when you take care of yourself, you can show up for your loved ones and your work in a more energized, enthusiastic, and authentic way.