Providing students with access to the help they need is the role of new Success Coach Debra Farley, who was hired at Hazard Community and Technical College on Jan. 4.
Farley provides support to students in academic and non-academic matters to help them finish college. She accomplishes this by connecting them with internal resources, such as tutoring and disability services, and to external resources, such as transportation providers and social service organizations.
“This role is important because we can have a part in helping students be successful which could result in making a better life for themselves. In addition, college builds confidence, and for successful students this helps them accomplish great things,” Farley said. “We can impact a student’s life by helping them deal with difficult situations such as time management and organization, lack of motivation and personal struggles, and we can hook them up with needed resources, help them maintain a balance of life/work/college, and help identify issues they are having with online learning,” she noted.
Prior to joining HCTC, Debra worked for 14 years at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) as Student Services Coordinator and Operations Manager of the FNU-owned Wendover Bed & Breakfast and Retreat Center.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Counseling from Lindsey Wilson College.
Debra lives in Hyden. She has two sons and a four-year-old granddaughter.
“I’m happy and thankful to be working at HCTC, which is also where I began my college journey as a non-traditional student with two children at home and a full-time job,” she said.
Farley is on the Hazard Campus Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 to 5 p.m. She works remotely Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday 8:30 to 5 p.m. Contact her via email Dfarley0028@kctcs.edu or by phone, 606-487-3139.
