Cristina Roca, EEC Alumni Protagonist of the Month | October 2024

Adventurous and constantly learning, Cristina Roca (EEC Alumni 2020) currently enjoys dancing, reading, hiking, and scuba diving. Her life has gone through several phases, from football to dance, and from Girona to Uganda. Coaching entered her life in 2017, and what began as a personal process is now part of her way of understanding life and her professional activity.

Cristina, for those who don't know you, who are you?

I would say I’m a very adventurous person who is always learning. I’m constantly challenging myself and always training in something new—every year, I feel like a completely different person.

And at this moment, this year, who are you being?

Now, at the moment, here I am being a good person who loves to dance. I love reading nowadays and I also love going to the mountains or scuba diving, that would be the Cristina of today. What I was saying, in a year's time I don't know who I'm going to be and if I look back, I come from football. So, imagine, from football to dance, that's why I say that I'm a person who is different every year.

And how did you come to Escuela Europea de Coaching? What courses have you done, what trainings?

[...] Cuando fui a la Escuela era por un tema mío, personal, que quería ordenar, sanar y trabajar. Y mira, actualmente estoy acompañando a personas, entonces todo vino por una crisis y a través de una recomendación para responder a tu pregunta.

And what did you find?

I would leave Girona, head to Barcelona, and always feel really nervous. And that first day of class was such a boom moment for me! Suddenly, it was like, oh, no judging, huh? Understanding that everyone has their own story. I was so comfortable in my own little world, and then, wow, what I encountered each day was full of surprises—so many surprises.

Volviendo en el tren, volvía llorando porque era ostras. Llegaba a casa y lo primero que tenía que hacer siempre era hablar con mi madre: "Mira, mamá, hoy te voy a explicar lo que he aprendido, ¿no lo encuentras increíble?" Todo me impactaba.

And today, what would you say coaching means to you?

It's a way of life... ever since I started coaching, my life has a clear "before and after." Living through questions, dedicating time each day to reflection, and not always staying stuck in my own perspective but instead saying, "Okay, let's see other ways to look at this situation." And it's not just about myself, but about others too. However, I always say it starts with yourself because how can you guide others if you haven’t worked on seeing it within yourself first? 

So, whenever I notice something that doesn’t sit right with me, I first turn to myself and ask: "Wow, Cristina, why is this affecting you? Why did you feel this emotion?"

For me, coaching is a way of life, and on the first day of class, when they asked, "Why did you sign up?" I said I was looking for my inner peace.

I lived with a lot of suffering back then. I didn’t know that suffering could be a choice, but my life was full of it. Now, I live in peace. That doesn’t mean there aren’t external challenges—work, family, or whatever—but it’s about how I experience them. Coaching has given me the peace to say, "Whatever happens, I live in peace." 

Continue listening to the interview in the podcast in Spanish: