On January 17 and 18 the Grade 12 students went to Mae Jo University to participate in a Resilience Training programme developed by the Head of Boarding, the College and Careers Counsellor, Grade Level Leader, School Counsellors, and the Diploma Programme Coordinator. The students spent the two days living on the university campus and also had the opportunity to visit a variety of campus locations including lecture halls and experience an evening out in the area surrounding the campus.  The programme focused on information and skills that will help the students in the transition from high school to university.

The first session was led by our PSC Chair, Sara Hardigan, who talked about the level of resilience, grit and hard work that is required to move through life overall, including an activity to demonstrate this using tennis balls.  Students as a group had to work out how to juggle all of the “balls” representing their life challenges.  This activity set the tone for considering the future challenges they would have.

Other sessions included information about being a Third Culture Kid, aikido, finances, budgeting for university, living in university, and drugs and alcohol.  Students also worked in groups to produce a shared meal in the Mae Jo cooking school area.  As a follow up to this on the last day, the students received a cookbook with recipes contributed by their teachers to help them prepare quick and nutritious meals during their university experience.

The students also considered personal safety issues connected to life on campus, within their new communities, technology usage, and personal relationships.  The final activity required the students to look into the future 5 years and consider where they will find themselves professionally, financially, and personally.  The responses were varied for this large group of Grade 12s and showed how diverse their future goals and plans really are.

The focus and communication during the two days were excellent, and our students left the experience with a lot to consider regarding the goals they have for themselves and how to attain them in the future.

We especially would like to acknowledge the work that A. Linda has done over the last 10 years of creating, developing, and continuing to support the Resilience Programme.  This will be her last year working on organizing the processes, but we look forward to inviting her to continue contributing to the programme in the future as she moves to her new role as Alumni Coordinator next year.

A. Gita, A. Linda, A. Nicole, A. Emma, A. Amandine