Summit builds on strengths, strategies
The second annual resilient campus summit at East Carolina University’s Main Campus Student Center led to a deeper dive to being a more resilient campus.
Afternoon panel discussion.
As noted by one of the event leaders, teaching instructor Tamra Church from the Department of Health Education and Promotion, resiliency changes and is something that requires practice and development. Morning sessions were led by Church, Dr. Erin Roberts (Human Development and Family Science) and event organizer Dr. Jennifer Matthews, professor in Health Education and Promotion, along with Dr. Angela Lamson, an HDFS professor and ECU’s interim assistant vice chancellor for economic and community engagement.
The event, which included an afternoon panel discussion, saw an increase in registration from the inaugural 2022 outing that brought together members from various parts of campus to discuss stress, self care and other challenges faced by students, staff, faculty and administrators.
“A lot of our students have adversity,” Church said. “We are not always going to see it from the outside.”
A related slide stressed that adversity is not destiny.
Presenters introduced the importance of growth mindset, positive affirmations, solution-focused people, resilient-focused classrooms and other factors. Positive affirmations can offset brain activity that tends to be negatively biased, Matthews said.
“There is hope and ways to build back up our students,” said Matthews, referencing neuroplasticity, which is defined as the capacity of the nervous system to develop new neuronal connections.
Research in ECU Health 1000 classes continued this year, surveying students on adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and positive childhood experiences (PCES). This led to comparisons from 2022 to 2023, and to national averages and tracking grade point averages.
A listed goal for the summit was to highlight strategies the university has implemented and continue to build upon to strengthen to buffer the impacts of trauma and stress. Sessions and discussions were established to give attendees, which included representatives from Pitt County Schools, strategies that can be utilized in classrooms and on campus.
This summit stems from the College of Health and Human Performance’s Resilient Pirate Nation prevention science focus in 2021-22.
