Resilience = Detour

Courtney Clark’s keynote speech about resilience at our Student Affairs Conference was one of hope and the ability to take that detour in life which will lead you to your new normal. Her message was very inspiring and fueled my True Colors© spectrum in various ways. In listening to her story, I reflected upon the work we do in Student Affairs and immediately thought that we are in the business of helping students make those detours necessary to be successful.

It is inevitable that our students will experience adversity or encounter some type of dilemma which may disrupt or completely alter their plans…what they had intended for their future. We have all been there at some point in our lives. You are at a crossroads, unsure what to do and the effects can be far reaching. But the good news is that we have a choice in the matter. We can take a detour. We can choose to yield to change…embrace it if you will and make a new plan…a new path…a new future. This mode of thinking can aid us in assisting our students with formulating strategies to build resilience so they can rebound quickly from a challenging situation, be effective in redirecting their energy and focus and recover from their setbacks.

Many of us interact directly with students on a daily basis and because of this we are uniquely positioned to have a significant influence and impact on those we serve. Thank you for helping our students work through difficult circumstances and making every interaction count. Your care, concern and support can ultimately be the spark to ignite our students to recognize and follow an alternate route which will lead to a new destination where success awaits them. Let’s continue to work together to help our students transform their expectations and transcend what is possible.

Submitted by —
Carol Gonzalez
Student Ombudsperson,
Student Affairs

Has your color spectrum changed over the years? How?

Describe those changes to your colleagues. Remember True Colors is a tool to understanding others and ourselves. It is a common language because we talk about it and use it to articulate our perspectives to each other. Keep it going.

Training Schedule for Student Affairs STAFF (SD 410) — Spring 2016  (Download PDF)

Training Schedule for Student Workers (SD 417) — Spring 2016  (Download PDF)

Any questions or comments? Please send us an email at VPSA@utsa.edu.