Spotlight on our facilitators: Helen Cowper
Helen joined the team in 2023 and is a coach and facilitator specialising in Emotional Intelligence. We caught up with her as she started to deliver her first programmes for the Juno Project in autumn.
What made you want to support the Juno Project?
Being female, and having had an interesting upbringing. Everyone thinks their childhood is normal, because it’s the only frame of reference you have, but it wasn’t until I got into self-development work that I realised that my upbringing had been challenging.
I’ve had the blessing of some amazing teachers along the way who saw something in me, so I have experienced the power of intervention. I also worked at a pupil referral unit in Chichester for a year, which made me think about what happens to the kids that don’t get the intervention that they need.
I want to be that intervention for people, for girls. Women have the power to change the world, and the more women in positions of influence the better. I think that those of us who have interesting stories are in a fantastic position to encourage and empower those we support - if the Juno Project can get to girls early and help them understand who they are, what they want, and what’s important, then this can give young people hope.
What advice would you give to your 15 year old self, if you could go back in time?
I think it’s easy to say and difficult to do, but not to worry about everything. For me, and so many of the girls I’ve spoken to so far, they’re anticipating and worrying about everything, so just to focus on ‘what’s the next thing?’.
Also, don’t try and fix everyone else, just concentrate on yourself.
What do you like most about working with young people?
I like the innocence, combined with the wisdom, that young people have. By the time we get older we make things complicated, but I’m blown away by some of the stuff the girls say. I think they understand things that I wish they didn’t, for their age, but there’s a bit of wisdom that comes with that, and that’s really humbling.
I see women at the other end of the spectrum who are menopausal, and they’ve given everything for themselves away and don’t know who they are anymore. So there’s something about if we can teach these girls how to really tune in to themselves and understand how important it is to look after themselves first and foremost, then this can help them to make good choices and to maximise their potential.
You’ve had a very diverse career journey (from engineering to coaching!). What brought you to coaching?
It was redundancy in, maybe, 2006. I was very disillusioned at that point. Companies say they care about people, but actually they care about money, and they care about people spending money. So there was a focus for me around doing something which is really about people, and I started exploring counselling and coaching. I did a lot of research about both elements and decided it was coaching for me, because I want to help people help themselves. That’s the thing about the Juno Project – if I can help you now then you don’t need me when you’re 50. And that’s brilliant.
I have a desire to create a kinder and more compassionate world, and that starts with us. So for me, coaching enables people to be kind and compassionate to themselves, which has a ripple effect into the world.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I’m not very good at free time! I like to make things; I’m not very good at crafting but I like to do something physical with my hands; it’s such a relief from sitting in front of a desk all day. I love learning. I love eating, and I walk every day when I can… I love spending time outside.