By Benjamin Roehlke, Staff Writer
Over the course of the semester, the Center for Academic Achievement has been holding “Adulting” sessions that allow students to come to an informational panel to learn new things.
On Nov. 2, the session was geared towards building resilience. The speaker for this particular panel was assistant dean of academic achievement Lakeisha Meyer.
She started the session by saying that resilience can be built, even if you don’t think you have it. She then asked the students that attended the session to define resilience in their own terms.
One of the first steps that Meyer stressed, was to recognize when you need support. In response, it is encouraged to seek assistance from peers, family, and professionals. Meyer then asked students to share their ideas on how they overcome obstacles in their everyday lives as well as during times of increased stress.
Some examples that were gathered were to keep things in perspective, and to focus on what really matters.
It was agreed that one should focus on the bigger challenges in life, rather than letting the smaller things build up and become a big problem.
The group then talked about the negatives of social media, and how social media is a way for people to share the highlights of their life, therefor hiding the bad.
Meyer shared her favorite quote about being resilient, and said: “tough times never last, tough people do.”
During the sessions, everyone in attendance received a work- sheet that gave strategies for selfcare and resilience.
At this time, the group redefined resilience using a definition from the American Phycological Association which stated: resilience is “the human ability to adapt in the face of tragedy, trauma, diversity, hardship, and ongoing significant life stresses.”
After the session, Meyer said: “I think the Adulting 101 is really important because there are a lot of skills you don’t learn in the classroom, but are really important for being success in life. Talking about resilience for example is important because it’s not one of those skills you won’t learn in the classroom, but you’re going to be faces with experiences that require it”.
The organizer of the Adulting 101 series, associate director of academic achievement Virginia Larson, said: “It was created in the way of looking at upperclassman and giving them some things they need to transition out of Susquehanna.”
Nicholas Trotter, a junior, said: “I really wanted to come because I’ve been through a tough semester before, and this semester I wanted to focus on developing support and seek out something to give me the skills to bounce back and I think it did just that, and I even got a worksheet”.
Information regarding the Adulting 101 series can be found in the Center for Academic Achievement.