Faculty Spotlight: Brandy Daniels

Faculty Spotlight: Brandy Daniels

Written by Sydney Spexarth, current 10th grade student at Sora

I’ve been a student at Sora Schools for a few months. I work with the teachers constantly, but I wanted to get to know them more. So, I sat down and interviewed Brandy Daniels, our Counselor. I asked her about what she typically does on a school day, but I also asked her about her history before she became a counselor at Sora.

What did you do before working at Sora?

In 2006, Brandy received a Master of Public Health degree with a focus on Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University. As an Emory student and throughout her career as a public health professional, she worked on several projects that provided opportunities to educate the public about various health issues. In 2018, Brandy became a certified life coach. She started her own business working with individuals experiencing transitions in their life and career. As a life coach, she served as an accountability partner, and also taught clients about things, such as inner blocks that keep them from achieving their goals. Eventually, she started working with some teen youth as clients and helped them with skills like time management, accountability, and much more.

What brought Brandy to Sora was the opportunity to be an accountability partner for high school students. She had the ability to work with high school students who were transitioning from high school to college, and she truly enjoyed it. She states, “the most rewarding part is seeing the growth of each student I work with.”

What’s a day at Sora look like for you?

Once Brandy joined Sora, she started to get a usual routine for her school days. Brandy usually wakes up at 7:30AM, does some stretches, and then gets coffee or tea. After that, she checks her calendar, email, and Slack (what Sora uses to chat with everyone). Outside of meetings, she follows up with students after meeting with them, and finds resources for students on the topics they talked about. With all her work, she stays organized with her Google Calendar and her own personal physical calendar. She likes to pop into the Sora Roadmap Club to see the upcoming changes to the program at Sora and contribute to the discussions. When she is not working, she likes to spend time with her family and friends.

Brandy’s goal as a counselor is to help students understand the importance of foundational life skills such as mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and time management. Recently, she has been facilitating group discussions about mindfulness and accountability, where students shared some of their challenges they experience with being present and taking responsibility for their actions. 

From Memorization to Mindsets Image
From Memorization to Mindsets

Transforming education: From memorization to mindsets. Empower students with critical thinking and curiosity. Make a positive impact on themselves and society at Sora.

Read More
Garrett
June 27, 2023 Garrett Smiley
The Purpose of Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Image
The Purpose of Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Prepare students for the AI-driven future. Explore critical thinking, empathy, and AI's impact on education. Redefine education for critical thinkers. Read more!

Read More
Garrett
June 26, 2023 Garrett Smiley