THRIVE Workshop: How to be resilient
For students feeling overwhelmed with all things college, Liberty University’s Office of Community Life will host its first workshop “THRIVE: Rooted in Resilience” on Feb. 7 in room 1100 of the Freedom Tower.
The workshop provides active-style education on things that make college life challenging. Topics of conversation include roommate conflicts, academics, mental health, family life and more.
The workshop allows students to gain valuable learning opportunities. Whether they be freshmen just starting college or seniors about to enter the workforce, this workshop prepares students to prioritize well-being and create healthy habits.
Associate Director of Educational Programming Scott Busby said the Office of Community Life envisions a more personal style of student outreach.
“Eventually, we’d like to do one-on-one style coaching,” Busby said. “We already offer mentorship out of our office, so we’re seeking to take what we’re doing there and make it more specific and aligned to what we’re trying to teach students through THRIVE.”
At the end of each year, the Office of Community Life searches its data for trends that reveal areas where students need extra support or assistance. One of the most prominent topics features the transition into college for first-year students. Because of circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic, an already challenging time becomes even more difficult.
In order to better benefit the student, everything taught through “THRIVE: Rooted in Resilience” transfers skills to help get students through both their time at Liberty and their future.
“We are not simply looking to provide students with skills that will benefit them as students, as college is hard for a number of reasons — academics are just a piece of that puzzle,” Busby said. “The things we’re trying to teach students are things that are going to persist far beyond their lives at Liberty.”
The workshop was initially designed to assist first-year students with the transition into college, among other things. Although the workshop is now calibrated for all students, the Office of Community Life hopes that over time, first-year students will come to love the event and the information it provides.
Student Olivia Beverly thinks workshops like this help ease the transition from high school to college.
“The transition from home to college is a very abrupt one and can be tricky for some people to navigate, especially (during) the first semester of freshman year,” Beverly said. “I feel like an event like that would’ve made freshman year a lot less challenging for me.”
The first “THRIVE: Rooted in Resilience” workshop will be held from 4 to 5 p.m., with two others following on Feb. 14 and Feb. 21. For more information or to register for the event, visit their website.
Napier is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on Twitter