NCE Success Stories Podcast - Ep. 15 - Katrena

Katrena’s NCE Success Story: Coming Back After 25 Years and Finishing What She Started

For Katrena, passing the NCE wasn’t just about passing an exam—it was about completing a goal that had been waiting for more than 25 years.

After earning her counseling degree, Katrena’s career took her into Human Resources, where she has spent more than two decades helping people navigate grief, loss, career changes, and difficult life transitions. But counseling never stopped being a passion, and the fact that she had never completed the NCE remained unfinished business.

In 2026, Katrena decided it was finally time.

In this episode of the NCE Success Stories Podcast, Katrena shares how she returned to studying after decades away from graduate school, built a structured study plan, discovered which study strategies worked for her—and which ones definitely didn’t—and used repeated practice questions to identify and strengthen her weaker areas.

She also talks about why simply memorizing information isn’t enough for today’s NCE, how she protected her study time and involved her family in the process, and the surprisingly emotional story of receiving her results—then driving all the way home before she could bring herself to look at them.

Most importantly, Katrena offers encouragement for anyone feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by the NCE: this exam does not determine whether you will be a good counselor.

Whether you graduated last year or decades ago, Katrena’s story is a reminder that it’s never too late to come back to a goal, commit to the process, and finish what you started.

Learn more about NCE Exam Prep and find resources to help you prepare with confidence at NCEExamPrep.com.

Podcast Transcript

[00:00:08] Josh: Hello, and welcome to the NCE Success Stories podcast, where we ask a counselor who's recently passed the national counseling exam. Well, the burning questions that you have as you wonder how to pass with confidence. My name is Josh Keller, and I'm the owner of NCE Exam Prep. And today I have with me Katrina. Katrina, so glad you're here.

She has been in HR for over 20 years. She's passionate about helping others through grief, loss, and life transitions.

Currently, she works as an employee relations director for an investment firm. That's pretty big shift.

[00:00:43] Katrena: Yes, it is a huge shift.

You know, counseling has always been my passion, so it's. It works for what I do day

[00:00:50] Josh: in and day out. Awesome. Awesome. Okay, so we're here to hear all about your experience passing the nce. So tell us just a little bit about kind of the journey that brought you to finally passing.

[00:01:03] Katrena: Yes. So I graduated probably 20, like 25 plus years ago.

[00:01:09] Josh: Oh, my goodness.

[00:01:10] Katrena: So counseling has always been a passion of mine. So HR was kind of my detour, and that's the way that I say it. But I've always found situations that will allow me to kind of practice. So, you know, grief and loss and something that we're not prepared for and we don't get a lot of it in college. And so I kind of channeled my energy through. Through hr, actually, and through helping others through grief and loss and even, like career shifts. So there's other ways to kind of channel that energy. But it was always a thorn on my side that I had not passed the national counseling exam. And so that was something that I said, 20, 26 is going to be my year. And it was absolutely.

[00:01:54] Josh: Yeah. That's exciting. That's exciting. So was there something in particular that. That made you decide like, okay, got to do this now I'm ready to, to finally make this happen after 20 something years.

[00:02:07] Katrena: Well, here's, here's what I'll say, you know, given the current environment. And it's. A lot of people are anxious. A lot of people are anxious. There's a lot of depression. There's a lot of uncertainty. And so, you know, my, my prayer is that, you know, hey, the community needs me. I believe that when God gives you gifts, it is your responsibility to use them.

And so I believe that it's something that's more of a purpose for me. And I know everybody has their own belief system, but I also, I do believe that that's something that was given to me early, and so I've used it indirectly. But now was the time for me to say, you know what I'm looking at? I'm at a crossroad. I'm at a crossroad. And now it's time. It was like, do it now or don't. Don't do it at all.

[00:02:53] Josh: Right.

[00:02:54] Katrena: And so I put the commitment there starting in January, January. You and I. You and I actually talked.

[00:02:59] Josh: Yeah.

[00:03:00] Katrena: Years ago.

And so it wasn't my first intro to. To the national. National Counseling Exam prep. Right. And so I. It was easy for me to reach back out and say, okay, I'm ready, and I'm serious now.

[00:03:14] Josh: Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. That's so great. And so. So you passed in July, which was just last month.

[00:03:22] Katrena: Yes.

[00:03:23] Josh: And did you take it at a testing center? Did you take it at.

[00:03:26] Katrena: Okay, I took it at a testing center. And so one of the things that I'll share, Josh, my husband, is he. He's a pmp, and so he did something completely unrelated, but he's the person that said to me, katrina, go to the testing center the day before.

[00:03:43] Josh: Right.

[00:03:43] Katrena: And so he said, go the day before. You know where it is. You know where you're going. You know how to check you. You'll know exactly where to go in and what to expect. And so part of that was me going to the testing center the day before so that I could breathe and. And be calm and be ready for the day. And so that was very helpful for me.

[00:04:03] Josh: Yeah, that's great. That way the morning of or the afternoon of, you're not scrambling to figure out where it's at.

I think that's a. That's a great tip. And especially if you live far away, you know, and I recommend people actually, you know, spending the night.

[00:04:17] Katrena: Yes.

[00:04:18] Josh: In town rather than trying to fight traffic or drive two hours, you know, and get all the ruminations happening. Like. Yeah.

[00:04:24] Katrena: Yes.

[00:04:24] Josh: There's a lot of that advanced prep that can save on. On that anxiety. So.

[00:04:28] Katrena: Yes. And I was only 20 minutes. 20 minutes from the site.

[00:04:32] Josh: Oh, great.

[00:04:33] Katrena: So I was able to breathe and get there early enough to. To sit and, you know, just take a moment before I go in.

[00:04:40] Josh: Awesome. Awesome. Okay. So I always love hearing about when people, you know, go to the front desk to get that little piece of paper, talk us through what that was like for you.

[00:04:54] Katrena: So here's what I'll say. And I didn't know what to expect. So when my exam ended, I was waiting for something magical to show on the screen. Like, I didn't know. I didn't know. Because different Exams do different when it comes to what the outcome will be.

[00:05:10] Josh: Right?

[00:05:11] Katrena: And so the screen just went completely black. It went right back to the login screen. And I said, oh, my goodness, what happened? Did I do something incorrect? And so I raised my hand and I. And she. The proctor came over and I said, I'm done. And she said, okay, come. You know, she just. You know how they do. They're quiet. So I just knew to come with her. And so she said. She checked me out. And she said, go. Go to the front desk and they'll give you the next steps. They'll give you your information.

[00:05:41] Josh: Yeah.

[00:05:41] Katrena: So I was a nerve ball. I will tell you after the exam. You know, I felt really Good. Those first 100 questions, Josh. I knew. I was like, okay, good. But the second 100 questions, I thought, where did they. Did they hear anything that I read or did they listen to anything? You know, who wrote the second half? And so when I made it to the front desk, the lady there, you know, they do their checkout procedure. And so she hands me the paper and it's crawl. It's folded, right.

I'm gonna be completely transparent with you. Do you know I couldn't look at it? Do you know I stood there.

Yeah, I couldn't look at it. And I. They make you turn your. Everything off. Your cell phones, your Bluetooth, your watches and all the things and put it in the locker. And so I made it to the car, still couldn't look at the sheet at all.

I drove home. With no phone? No. I turned everything off. I literally drove home because I knew my family was here. And I said, you know, they were like, why didn't you call? And I said, I haven't looked at my results. And so I'm a nervous wreck.

[00:06:50] Josh: Wow.

[00:06:50] Katrena: They said, I can't believe you made it home. And I said, I did. So I told my daughter, I said, I'm going to give you this piece of paper. And I said, I want you to look at it. Don't make a face, because if whatever face you make, I'm going with. I'm going to go with that face.

[00:07:04] Josh: How old is your daughter? How old is your daughter?

[00:07:06] Katrena: She is 28. Okay.

So she works from home. And so I gave her the paper and she said, she. She just kind of gave a smirk to me. And then right after, she said, where's dad? Let's go to dad. She said, did dad see it? And I said, no, he hasn't seen it. And so he gave. He. She passed the paper to husband. And my husband said, please give her this paper. And so that's when I. It hit me. Maybe I passed. I did all of this.

[00:07:36] Josh: Oh, my goodness.

[00:07:38] Katrena: So it was perfect. So, yeah, when I saw pass, I just. Tears just came. Yeah, I started. I just. I broke. It was. It was like everything that I had worked for, studied for, you know, prayed for, and I. I start. I just teared up. I cried for a moment, and I only told a few of my friends because I didn't want the added stre.

[00:08:01] Josh: Yeah.

[00:08:01] Katrena: So I only had one or two people to call to let them know I passed. So that's a different story, I'm sure.

[00:08:09] Josh: Never had anybody do one of these podcasts who waited so long before looking at the results. I wouldn't have been able to do that. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. Well, that was awesome that you got to share that with your husband and your daughter.

How special.

[00:08:23] Katrena: Yes.

[00:08:24] Josh: Yeah.

[00:08:24] Katrena: And my son was at work, so I called him because every. The three of them were waiting to hear from me. So I literally called him because he needed to be a part of it. So I called him while he was at work, and he picked up and he said, mom, I'm so proud of you.

[00:08:36] Josh: Yeah, of course he is. That's great. Cool. So did you guys do anything to celebrate?

[00:08:42] Katrena: So we. We did. We went out to dinner. And then I'm also planning a day future state. Just a day of just relaxation, reflecting, and figuring out what next steps are. Because a lot of times we want everything right, you know, quick, quick, quick. But for me, it is, I took the test, I passed. Let me figure out, Let me see what the next steps are, supervision, what that looks like, and then how I want to proceed going forward.

[00:09:09] Josh: Sure. No, I think there's some wisdom there. Right. Rather than being in such a hurry and just clamoring for whatever the first thing is that comes to you. So.

[00:09:16] Katrena: Yes, exactly.

[00:09:18] Josh: You worked hard to get to this place, and you deserve to put some real thought and intention into to the next steps for you.

[00:09:24] Katrena: Exactly. Yes. Yeah.

[00:09:26] Josh: Okay, so let's talk about some of the strategies that you used as you were preparing. You know, what did you find that worked for you? Were there any strategies that you started with and felt like, okay, I have to abandon that. It's clearly not working. Just kind of walk me through some of those things that work for you.

[00:09:42] Katrena: So one of the first things I did was reach out to you for your guidance and more information about the NCA exam prep, what I liked. So in my research, what I Like most about your program is that you had structure and I need structure. Everybody is different with how they learn. And I think that's something that we often forget, that everybody learns different. Some people are visual learners, some auditory, some are kinesthetic and they need hands on. I'm more of a. I need a structure. Let me see a plan and let me see if I can follow that plan.

And so that worked for me, taking the pre exams and seeing where I needed to start and what my weakest subjects were. Yeah, that helped me out tremendously. And then also what I learned early on is I'm not a note card person. I tried to write out note cards with the information and I failed miserably. So I wasted time. Even though I had the information, it was your content and I was attempting to write it out, it wasn't working for me on a note card. Now what did work for me is writing it out, but in a spiral. So I learned that I'm not a no card person.

[00:10:52] Josh: Okay.

[00:10:52] Katrena: And so I also purchased large post it notes and I had these large post it notes posted in my room so that when I would rise in the morning or go to bed at night, I would take a look at some of those concepts located on the post it notes. And so I listened to, I listened to your videos. I also took your classes that you would offer on Wednesdays. Mondays and Wednesdays. Yeah. I also listened to Tessa, I listened to Dr. Pam. I listened to just random people, just anybody that had like exam questions. I would just listen to and take a few exams just to see the differences in how they asked the questions. So that was part of it. And then also signed up for Pocket Prep just to have it.

But the NCA exam prep was most like the exam and I think it helped me to take those quizzes over and over again. So I didn't just do the large two hour, you know, the large, you know, four hour test I did multiple times. Certain areas just kept taking new, new questions over and over again. And then about a week out I listened to like this 47 minute review from Rosenthal. And so I'm probably one of the few people that I year that everybody was purple book, purple book, purple book. That didn't work for me.

[00:12:19] Josh: True.

[00:12:20] Katrena: That didn't work for me. So I appreciated the structure that you had. You had an outline and so that worked for my OCD mindset. I needed some structure and what was next.

[00:12:31] Josh: Yeah, that's great. And you know, I, I love that you incorporated resources that worked for you. Right.

[00:12:38] Katrena: Yes.

[00:12:38] Josh: A lot of people ask me, you know, about all these other, you know, things that are available and you know, most of them are really great. People use them effect and you know, I don't have anything negative to say about most of the things that are out there. There's a few that I'd probably caution people against using. I'm not going to mention them here, but, but, you know, everything that you mentioned is, is very popular and helpful and I, I encourage people to incorporate that in. Right. They can adapt the, the, the plan to incorporate these other things as well.

So would you say that you, you stuck closely to the pattern of testing and then studying each chapter and then retesting, or did you kind of go off and, and, and figure out a method that worked for your own as far as incorporating the, the study manual and the things?

[00:13:24] Katrena: I pretty much stuck to the program. The only thing that I did more of is I took more quizzes. I probably took more quizzes than I did anything.

[00:13:32] Josh: Yeah.

[00:13:33] Katrena: And so in those quizzes, what I would do is evaluate where I needed to focus. So for example, if, if internal validity or reliability and validity and type 1 and type 2 errors associated something that I struggle with, if that, you know, domain was something that was challenging, I would spend more time in that space.

[00:13:52] Josh: Gotcha. Yeah, I think that's really, really effective. Right. And that's the whole point of taking quizzes and tests is that it gives you feedback on, on where you're struggling and which concepts you know, you're, if you're getting them incorrect. And that just points to where you need to spend some studying time. So. Perfect.

[00:14:08] Katrena: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

[00:14:10] Josh: Do you feel like the preparation and the method that you used set you up to feel more confident on actual test date?

[00:14:20] Katrena: Oh, absolutely, because I really needed that. I needed to have that structure. The only other thing that I forgot to mention is I also use ChatGPT to just say give me exam questions, but that I didn't do that a lot, but I did utilize so I could see the difference, the variations of how they ask the questions. Like some, here's what I'll say. Some, probably some material has easier questions and it's more, you can pretty much figure it out right away.

But I needed a balance between the medium of it being extremely hard or these questions are way too easy. This is not going to work on the exam. And so it set me up to be, to be the best that I could be and all I could do is just apply because a lot of times people say, well, the Nce is memorization, but it's not. Maybe at some point it was memorization.

It's not memorization. And so when I see that, when I see people give that feedback, and that's not true, that wasn't my experience. It was more vignettes, it was more scenario based. And it was not every. Every now and then I had a question where it said, is this, does this reflect reliability or validity? Maybe that was the extent, but it was not memorization. So if you go in with memorization, it's not going to work successfully.

[00:15:41] Josh: Yeah, I, I agree. 100 and I hear that a lot from people too. You know, they really want for you to be able to apply the concepts rather than just regurgitate information. You know, rope memorization.

You know, everybody says it's a reading test, which means you have to apply what you're reading to make sure that you're not missing words and things. So.

[00:16:02] Katrena: Right.

[00:16:03] Josh: That's. That's really great feedback.

Looking back, is there anything that you think you would do differently if you were to.

[00:16:12] Katrena: The one thing I would do is not start with writing no cards.

I feel like I spent a little bit more time than I needed to with no cards.

[00:16:23] Josh: Yeah.

[00:16:24] Katrena: The one thing that I will do that I, that I recommend is that you set a time, some quiet. Set a set, some quiet time to the side so that, you know, from this time to this time, I don't want any interruptions. And so for me, I went to the library because the library was a place where I could turn all the noise off and find a little cubby or find a place in space.

[00:16:49] Josh: Yeah.

[00:16:49] Katrena: To study and turn off my phone. And so I also didn't have a social life for a while, which is fine. But I needed to be able to focus my brain between, you know, and it doesn't always work out like that. Like, I'm not that disconnected. But this was a season for me and so it worked for my household. It worked for. I needed to just work and study. And so I had to work and study for a while and squeeze in a little vacation. But even on vacation, I was taking quizzes. Be on my phone, on the app.

[00:17:18] Josh: Yeah. Yeah. I think what I love about what you're saying is that you were able to put some boundaries, you know, to protect that studying time and make sure that things didn't creep in and pull you away and. And knowing that that's just for a time.

You know, most people can do that.

[00:17:34] Katrena: Yes.

[00:17:35] Josh: They know this isn't going to be life forever. This is the next three months, what, what it's going to look like for me. And, and then we get to celebrate and reclaim all that time back. So it's great.

[00:17:45] Katrena: Exactly. Exactly.

[00:17:47] Josh: Okay, so suppose you met somebody you know at the library who you know was getting ready to take this test and you only had 30 seconds to share with them, you know, something encouraging or just to impart some last minute wisdom for them. What would you want to say to them?

[00:18:08] Katrena: So the first thing I would say is commit, commit to studying and also make sure that you let others around you in your immediate household know what the plan will look like and how they can support you.

So that's the first step because it starts at home first, because that's where you spend, you know, most of your time.

And I would also say make sure that you investigate the materials that you are going to use. What will you use based on how you learn? Think about how you learn first before going out, purchasing seven books, this program, this video, this app, and then it becomes overwhelming. And so you don't want to be overwhelmed. You are, it's already a lot of information.

And so the biggest thing that you can do is slow down and have one to two, maximum of three things that you touch that will encourage you or that will show you that you're headed down the right path. And so that would be my, my recommendation. And then also don't let this test consume and overpower, overpower you, meaning you have the skills. This is a test. This test has some bias to it.

[00:19:15] Josh: Sure.

[00:19:15] Katrena: And know that, and know that it doesn't mean that you won't be a good counselor even if you have to take it more than one time.

[00:19:21] Josh: Yeah. Oh, I'm so glad you said that. I think a lot of people, you know, they, they start to feel defined by, you know, the outcomes of this test. And there's great counselors who struggle with this exam and so.

[00:19:33] Katrena: Correct.

[00:19:34] Josh: I'm so glad that you said that. So, yes.

[00:19:36] Katrena: Thank you.

[00:19:37] Josh: Okay, well, thanks again for taking the time out today to, to join me and I wish you the best as you move forward with your career.

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.

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.