NCE Success Stories Podcast - Ep. 11 - Ashton

Ashton is currently in her ninth year as a school counselor. She has a passion for talking with people and helping them grow personally. Her dream is to one day become a therapist and work with family and adolescents. Now that she has successfully passed the NCE with the help of Josh Kellar and his program, she is one step closer to achieving that dream!

Podcast Transcript

[00:00:00] Josh:

Hello, and welcome to the NCE Success Stories podcast, where we ask a counselor who's recently passed the national counseling exam all the burning questions that you have as you wonder how to pass with confidence. My name is Josh Kellar and I'm the owner of NCEexamprep.com and today I have with me Ashton. Ashton is currently in her ninth year as a school counselor. She has a passion for talking with people and helping them grow. Personally, her dream is to one day become a therapist and work with family and adolescents. Now that she's successfully passed the NCE, she's one step closer to achieving that dream. Ashton, welcome.

[00:00:47] Ashton: Thank you. Thank you.

[00:00:49] Josh: Yeah. Glad that you're here. It's been a journey, hasn't it?

[00:00:52] Ashton: It has. It is. It was a. It was a very long 90 days.

[00:00:56] Josh: Long 90 days, yeah. So for those of you listening, I met with Ashton in one of our strategy sessions before she started preparing. And we kind of outlined, you know, some. Some ideas on how. How to get there. And a lot happened besides just taking the NCE, and I'll let her share some of that if she wants to. But let's start with, when did you pass the NCE?

[00:01:23] Ashton: So I decided to take the test two days after Christmas this year. So it was December 27th that I took it.

[00:01:31] Josh: Gotcha. Was there something specific about testing then that. That worked for you?

[00:01:37] Ashton: Yeah.

So I. This was actually my second attempt at the. At the NCE. I had tried a little over two years ago and had come up about four points short of that minimum score.

And so it was a. I made it a resolution of mine going into 2025 that I wanted to have passed to the NCE so that I could start on supervision hours. And so when I went online to sign up for the test, that was the very last date that was available in 2024.

[00:02:07] Josh: Wow. Wow. Yeah. So that was an exciting Christmas, you know. Nose.

[00:02:11] Ashton: Yes.

[00:02:12] Josh: To the ground. Yeah. All right, then. Opening presents. Let's. I have to study. I'm just kidding.

[00:02:16] Ashton: Right, right. Yeah. No, it really was like that.

[00:02:21] Josh: Yeah. Well, that's devotion for sure. So how did you find out that you passed?

[00:02:27] Ashton: So I went to a testing center in person to take it. That was how I did it the first time. And so I wanted to. To maintain that symmetry for the second time. And so took the test, and then I was dismissed back into the lobby area where there was a very nice lady, and she went to her computer and verified my name and then clicked on my name and gave me a printout and so on that printout, that's where it had each of the categories and the scores within each. And then it had pass on there.

[00:03:03] Josh: Pass on there. Yeah. And so what did you do?

[00:03:07] Ashton: I cried.

I cried.

And then when I walked out, I cried some more and then called my mom. She was, she was my first phone call and she cried on the phone. And so it was, it was, it was great. It was awesome.

[00:03:22] Josh: Awesome. And so had you, had you prepped her, like, hey, I'm going to call you first thing no matter what? Like, had you. Was she kind of your. Your person through it all that you had chosen?

[00:03:32] Ashton: So, yeah, so she, she was one of my people that I leaned into during, during this process. But funny enough, she. When I called her, she said, oh. And I said, yes. And she said, oh, dang. She said, I was, I was actually gonna drive up there to, to be waiting for you in the parking lot. And she said, but I didn't, I didn't know what time you would be finished, but I was actually getting ready to walk out the door. And so I said, oh, well. So I ended up driving to her house whenever I got done. But yeah, she was, she was one of, one of my people during, during this process for sure.

[00:04:05] Josh: So sweet. It sounds like she is a huge source of strength and. Yes, that's awesome. Okay. And so had you planned ahead of time how you were going to celebrate? What did you do? Just to rejoice in getting that passing grade?

[00:04:19] Ashton: Yeah. So, like, I had, I had mentioned to you, I know I said it in a joking way, but seriously, I did not open a book for a full week after passing. That was the one way that I decided to celebrate. And then my husband actually took both of us out that following Saturday to one of our. Our favorite restaurants here in. In Greenville. And so we were able to celebrate that way too.

[00:04:45] Josh: Good. Good. Well, I'm glad that you put everything away and, you know, didn't have to. To look at anything after that. So.

[00:04:51] Ashton: Yeah.

[00:04:52] Josh: Okay, so let's talk about your preparation. What were some of the things that you did in order to prepare and to study that, that you think you feel the most successful actual test today?

[00:05:05] Ashton: Yeah. So I, like I previously mentioned, but I, I feel like it's worth noting that there, there was a lot of stuff that happened in my life, just a lot of life within the 90 days that I had, that I had whenever I chose the 90 day program within that time frame, I went through. So I started the 90 day program at the end of September. So that took me through Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I also got married early November and then we, then we moved in that time period as well. And then also Hurricane Hayleen affected my area in South Carolina pretty heavily. I was without power for 10 days. And so, you know, a lot of the program, you know, it has like the online quizzes that you can take and then the online test. And so there was a lot of traveling to different places that had WI fi during that time.

So yes, a lot of dedication.

But what I found most hope most helpful was just the very well laid out plan. That was the 90 day plan. And so breaking it up by chapter.

Also just your advice on skimming through the chapters initially. And then oNCE you start figuring out what areas need more focus, then you can start diving into those chapters a little, a little more deeply. I also found the oNCE a week, one hour tutoring sessions that you offered extremely helpful. And then it was actually because of those tutoring sessions that I decided to start taking a deeper look into the online resources that you offered as far as the going into each of the chapters and then also the theorist videos.

So because I learned that even though I was consuming the information via reading pretty well, but that hearing you talk about it and then especially in your videos, you like to refer to a lot of the different sessions that you have with your clients. And so being able to have that real world application into the reading material was very helpful for me.

It allowed me to be able to connect the material to sort of like my day to day routine or maybe people that I've come in contact with, to be able to start associating some of the theories with them.

Yeah, so, so it was, I felt like just the way, just like I said, the structure and then just the resources that you had were, were very helpful and it kept me on track even, even through all those life changes that were happening, to stay on track with everything.

[00:07:53] Josh: Oh my goodness. I'm like totally amazed and impressed.

Dedication to that. And you know, just hearing that having that structured layout helped through that.

You know, when, when we were talking before we hit record, you said life is going to life regardless of what you have going on. And I love that I may, may create a little quote from that, you know, because it's so true. Right. And, and, and for some people it might be too much. Right. If some people experieNCEd, you know, all of those things, you know, I might re, I might encourage them to, to reschedule or consider post, but you know, each person kind of has to decide that for their own. And so you push through all of those huge changes and now here you are entering 25. You know, never having to take this test again. That's amazing.

[00:08:44] Ashton: It is, it is, it was, it was extremely helpful and I'm very thankful that your, your program offered that structure. Like I had mentioned this, this was my second attempt and with my first attempt I just, I guess I just kind of used what I thought would be a good study method for me. But really, I would say one of the key points in your program is the repetition piece of it. Right. You know, because initially it can seem like a lot with, you know, the chapters and then the amount of time to study. But I did find myself sort of halfway through the program, kind of getting into that 45 day mark of when I would go back through chapters. I would say, oh, I remember this. Or oh yeah, that theory makes sense because I've been able to apply it or I've been able to hear it through your, through your one night a week tutoring sessions. And so yeah, the, the repetition piece was, was huge. I feel like.

[00:09:42] Josh: Yeah, no, you're not the first person to talk about just the, the live tutoring. And so we've actually, I've actually added a second tutoring session each week now as well. And, and the content's different for each of those. And so just because it, I mean, I want people to pass. Right. And if this is something that's been really helpful, you know, let's, let's do more of what's working. So, so let's, let's talk about actual test day, like, you know, day before. Like, how did you get in the right mindset? What were some of the things that you did to deal with your own stress coming into test state?

[00:10:18] Ashton: So I work out five days a week and so I made sure that I was continuing to do that throughout this whole process.

Going into those last kind of one to two days prior to the test. I will say that was probably one thing that I did not strictly adhere to with your program. But I think that's the beauty of your program is that you also advocate for flexibility within your program too. Um, so the, the day before I actually did take that time to kind of just run through some really quick what I felt like were areas that I just wanted to really make sure that I could hone in on those before test day. Um, and so then, but on test day I just, I, I set my alarm for an hour and a half before I had to be where I needed to Be for my test site, woke up, made sure that I ate a really good breakfast, made sure that I was hydrating, got in the car. On the way there I was, I was praying a lot, I was saying a lot of affirmations. I was, you know, just over and over envisioning the, the four letter word of pass on my, on my sheet at the end. And then, you know, got there probably about 20 or so minutes before and just, and then allowed my, myself about 10 minutes just to sit in the car and just kind of breathe and then continue with those prayers and those positive affirmations and just envisioning what it would, what it would look like and what it would feel like and, and even, you know, how I would feel being able to leave the testing center knowing that I had passed. Just making sure, just continuing with that positivity throughout.

[00:11:56] Josh: Love it. Love it. So just imagining what that's going to feel like. Like envisioning getting that. That's so great. Yeah. And so when you walked in and it became real and you started going through the, the check in process, did you feel anxious at all or were you able to, to feel relatively calm through the process?

[00:12:17] Ashton: So I felt more confident than I had the first time. I felt much more reassured that, you know, I had dedicated these past 90 days to doing what I had set out to do. And knowing that and really believing that your program was setting me up for that success. And so going into the testing center and you know, they do have to do the palm scan and you know, you just, you sign your waivers and then you wait for them to call you back and go into the testing center. And I had forgotten just how quiet the room was. So that was a, that was, that was very much a, like, oh, like I'm here, I'm about to take this test kind of, kind of feeling.

But then, you know, got sat down. The lady, she was super sweet and very kind, but you know, she talked about the different headphones and if you want to use those and you can walked through, you know, kind of the, the pre.

Examples of like, you know, what it would look like and making sure that you go back and review your answers.

And then she said, you know, I'm going to walk away. Whenever you're ready to start, you just go ahead and start. And so you, you know, you hit that start button and you take a deep breath and, and it felt good that at least the first few questions that I had seen, I was like, oh yeah, that's that answer. Oh yeah, that's that answer. And it was like, okay, this is going to be good.

[00:13:44] Josh: So that's a great way to start feeling confident with your answers. Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Very good.

So is there anything looking back that you think you would have done differently either in your preparation or, you know, in that time leading up to test day? Right ahead.

[00:14:04] Ashton: So I absolutely would have incorporated more of the videos that you have in the, like in, in the library, I guess is what I'll call it in your different sections.

I certainly, looking back on it, that I had sort of watched those videos along with the chapters as I was studying them because like I said, it was oNCE I realized that your oNCE a week tutoring sessions were so helpful, being able to actually hear you and hear that information and associate it. That's when I said, well, let me check out this library of all these other video resources that it has and see what those look like. And so oNCE I access those, I thought, oh my gosh, I wish I had done this from day one. And so my what that, that probably would be the one thing that I would do differently is making sure that I do access those in the beginning instead of waiting until either halfway through or towards the end. Because if nothing else, those videos just continue to reestablish what the, what the study manual is going through to. It's just adding another, an extra layer there to the study piece of it.

[00:15:19] Josh: Yeah, no, that's so, so good to know. And I think that at the end of December I actually reformatted everything and now there's like separate courses for each of the subjects. And so even if people aren't following the program and they want to just take the course on, you know, research and statistics, they can just purchase access to my research and statistics videos. So made it a little bit easier for people because others had feedback like you as well and just wanted to make that a little bit more easy to navigate. So that's good to know. You know, just incorporating those would have been something, anything else that you think you would have done differently or do you feel pretty good about the rest of it?

[00:16:01] Ashton: Yeah, I mainly, mainly the video piece of it, you know, the other parts that I would have done differently probably would have just been making sure that I was allowing myself to be flexible within your program whenever I needed that flexibility. And like I said, you, you said that from the beginning. You know, you, you just said this is, this is more or less a, A, a proposed, you know, kind of tried and true method study program. However, oNCE you look through it, you may find that It. You need to tweak it a little bit to be able to fit your lifestyle, and please do that. And so, you know, just allowing myself. That grace to be able to have flexibility within it. But again, it's. It's twofold because, like I also said, I complimented the fact that it was so structured because I found that I needed that. So. But other than that, no, everything. Everything made sense. Everything was easily accessible. You were easily accessible.

Which. Which is great, because I think a lot of times there's a lot of different programs out there that people can purchase and. And whomever the owner is, they. They may not be as accessible to. To ask questions or to get in touch with if they do have questions. And. And you were always successful, whether it was via email or text. And so that was. That was very helpful as well.

[00:17:22] Josh: No, that's good to hear. Yeah.

Okay, so if you had 30 seconds to share with somebody, getting ready to take this test, something valuable or encouraging, what would you say to them?

[00:17:37] Ashton: So I would say, know your why. W H y so know your why. For. For why you're doing this, your. Your motivations, your ambitions.

What is it that is driving you towards wanting to do this?

Because I really feel like oNCE you know why you want to, then it's during those times that you're feeling defeated or you're feeling exhausted or you're questioning, is this even really worth it? Am I on the right path?

Just knowing your why is really what can keep you going through it.

[00:18:15] Josh: That's such great advice. Yeah. Don't have anything more to add to that. That's all.

Well, Ashton, thank you so much for joining me today, and congrats again on an amazing achievement through some really difficult transitions and challenges. You deserve that passing score, and it's excited for you in the future of your career.

[00:18:37] Ashton: Thank you. Thank you, Josh. And I appreciate, again, just everything that you had to offer, and I appreciate your program and also just your positivity throughout, because I know you. You've been doing what you're doing for a long time, and so you know that there are lots of us who are trying to get to the point to where you are, but you've been through it yourself, and so you know how difficult and challenging it can be. And so I really appreciate your support throughout it as well.

[00:19:02] Josh: Definitely. Definitely. Okay. Well, thanks again for being here, and to all of you listening, we hope that you'll tune in, and if there's anything that I can do to cheer you on or support you, feel free to reach out.

NCE Exam Prep seeks to provide quality, reliable and easy to use preparation material to help test takers confidently pass the National Counseling Exam. For more information, go to NCEexamprep.com.