The Life Cultivator's Creed: Resilience Fuels Scholar Success

As a higher education professional for over 16 years, Garry Mo?se has witnessed firsthand the pivotal role resilience plays in promoting student success. In a recent interview, Garry shared his perspectives on resilience, the challenges students face, and how cultivating an adventurous, resilient mindset can transform obstacles into opportunities.??

Garry, whose work focuses on the TRIO programs - which aim to support first-generation, low-income students - defined resilience as "the ability to bounce back from adversity and adapt to challenging situations." He emphasized that resilience is an essential skill for students to develop, as it empowers them to overcome hurdles throughout their academic journeys and into their professional lives.

"It is very valuable, beyond valuable...to help them develop that," Garry stated. "We each have that in us, it's human nature, however, we can lose it if we're not practicing it."

Fostering Resilience Early

Much of Garry's work centers around the Upward Bound Math and Science program, which prepares high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds for success in higher education. Through after-school activities and a Summer Academy, Garry and his team incorporate resilience-building strategies covering academic support, college planning, career exploration, financial literacy, and personal development.

"We focus on academic support and success. We focus on college enrollment planning. We focus on career exploration, financial education and personal development, which it is really it's really self development," Garry explained. "It covers a lot of leadership matters [and] social emotional well-being."??

These formative experiences aim to equip students with the grit and determination to persevere through challenges both in and out of the classroom. As Garry noted, "The ability to bounce back, the ability to get back again...it's something it's like sports, practicing it every day."

Overcoming External Obstacles

However, students' paths are often hindered by external factors beyond their control. Garry cited socioeconomic pressures, lack of academic preparation, discrimination, mental health struggles, and lack of awareness about support resources as significant impediments.??

"These are skill[s] that they can develop for their families. They can practice that as they manage families or their relationship[s]," Garry stated. "But also in the workplace...We're not living in easy days."

To confront these headwinds, Garry advocates an approach of transforming obstacles into adventures. He likened students' journeys to a football running back navigating a field of opposition.

"I always tell students look, the same way there are people who are here to tackle you, but you have to be able to recognize and appreciate those players on the field of life who are there to block for you," Garry said. "It is very important...what do we do? Are we following what they are doing and then go through the path that they create for us?"

By developing resilience from an early age and learning to leverage support systems, students can be better equipped to confront challenges rather than becoming discouraged.??

The Role of Healing

Resilience, however, does not mean overlooking past traumas or suppressing painful experiences. In fact, Garry believes healing from old wounds plays a vital role in cultivating resilience.

"You cannot ignore old wounds," he stated. "However, you can use them as some way to develop means or mechanism to prevent them from happening, or if certain things ought to happen again...you are better prepared."

Rather than allowing past hurt to inhibit forward momentum, Garry encourages students to confront those experiences, learn from them, and use them as fuel for growth.

A Lifelong Practice??

Ultimately, developing resilience is not a finite process, but a lifelong pursuit requiring continuous nurturing and adaptation. By embodying the mindset of a "life cultivator" - a term Garry uses to describe his philosophy - students can approach obstacles as opportunities for cultivation of strength and perseverance.

"The way I break it down, to be a life cultivator you have to care about cultivating or nurturing things that matter in your own life, but also others' [lives]...help them grow, help them flourish," Garry explained.??

Through carefully tended personal growth, openness to ongoing learning, and a spirit of adventure, students can transform their academic paths from obstacle courses into gardens bursting with possibility.

If you're an educator, mentor, or student seeking to unlock greater resilience:

1) Reflect on your own experiences overcoming adversity as fuel for cultivating resilience.??

2) Identify supportive "blocker" figures who can help pave paths to success.

3) Practice an adventurous mindset by re-framing obstacles as opportunities.?

4) Make resilience-building a consistent part of your community's personal development efforts.

By viewing life through the lens of a cultivator, you can continually nurture the resilience needed to transform challenges into extraordinary growth opportunities. As Garry's insights make clear, resilience is the soil from which the blossoms of student success take root.