I caught up recently with Keysha Whitaker of the Penn State Berks Campus who has been working with students on her campus in terms of resilience and other success measures for many years. Even though Berks could not formally participate in the resilience project this year (they already had a focus for their FYS that had been agreed upon before the end of the last academic year), Keysha wanted to make sure she incorporated some of the material into a recent workshop on her campus called, Keys to Academic Resilience: A Positive Mindset and Support System On the Road to Greatness. There were 60 students in attendance and she said it was well-received!

This session was part of a larger series offered at Berks called On the Road to Greatness Workshop Series. It was developed by the Office of Student Support Services to share practical ideas for academic success with first year students. These interactive workshops are meant to help students understand their individual learning styles and present information to enhance the development of skills necessary for academic success. The theme this year was developing your individual path towards academic success, helping students develop an action plan for achieving their goals in higher education. Other topics in the series include goal setting, test taking strategies, time management, the importance of making positive choices, communication skills for success, career exploration, learning styles, improvement of memory and grades, and stress management.

For the resilience workshop that Keysha gave, she used some of the slides from my IST 111 presentation and shared her handout with me to be offered for others to use. I added it to our Canvas group!!  It has been so great to meet and work with so many wonderful colleagues dedicated to student success through this project! This sharing of resources and good ideas made me nostalgic for the early days of my career where sharing seemed to be much more widespread! For me, this kind of positive contact with colleagues has been a welcome shot in the arm! Thanks Keysha!

Here are some gems from her handout

Inspiring Quotes

Some thoughts on a positive mindset . . .

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing . . . to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” – Viktor Frankl

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”  – William James

 

4 Key Beliefs (Taken from “How Kids Learn Resilience” in The Atlantic, June 2016)

1. I belong in this academic community.
2. My ability and competence grow with my effort.
3. I can succeed at this.
4. This work has value for me.

Thanks for the good work, Keysha and for generously sharing your approach and resources in our conversation!