College is never easy. At a global level, it marks the boundary in our society between adolescence and adulthood. It is the moment when expectations shift from dependence to independence. The experience of being a college student also brings more specific challenges as well. Learning how to adapt to roommates, social demands, and academic demands is never easy. Some students seem to navigate these issues without any problems. However, what we often find is that these individuals have found ways to cope with these situations. They may have struggled at first but found a way to overcome adversity.

It often seems that we are alone in facing adversity and at a loss to come up with adequate solutions. But you are not alone; others have experienced similar situations. Everyone struggles. It is not that we are incapable of dealing with adversity, it is just that we may be at a loss at this moment to come up with a means of coping with the situation.

The goal of this project is to collect stories relating to a challenge, a stressful situation, or adversity.

• As a student, you may want to share a story of overcoming a challenge that other students would benefit from knowing.
• As a faculty or staff member, you may want to share a story of overcoming a challenge that students would benefit from knowing.
• As an alum of Wofford College, you may want to share a story of overcoming a challenge that our current students would benefit from knowing.

These personal stories should describe the challenge, the ways you managed to overcome the adversity, and how you bounced back. While we are interested in a wide variety of personal resilience experiences, we would like to focus on narratives that address issues relating to the experience of a student in general and being a Wofford College student in particular.

The project is interested in different forms of written expression including narratives and poems. However, these stories should be personal experiences, not fictional accounts. In addition, we are interested in experiences and not advice.

All the information you provide is anonymous and no personally identifying information will be collected.

The process of writing about these events might bring up memories and feelings that are upsetting and disturbing. Wofford College provides several resources to help with these situations should you need them. These include confidential Counseling Services in the Wellness Center (current students can set up an appointment through https://wofford.medicatconnect.com). Our counsellors are Perry Henson (864-597-4373; email hensonpv@wofford.edu), Kellie Buckner (864-597-4356; email bucknerkn@wofford.edu), and Dean Beth Wallace (864-597-4371; email wallaceed@wofford.edu). The Office of the Chaplain can provide confidential support for Wofford College faculty, staff, and students. You can contact Ron Robinson (864-597-4051; email robinsonrr@wofford.edu). For inquiries or reports involving racial, sexual or gender-based discrimination or information about available support services, you may also contact Amanda Estabrook, the Title IX/ADA Coordinator (864-597-4047; email estabrookar@wofford.edu) or Demario Watts, the Assistant Dean of Students for Diversity and Leadership Development (864-597-4066; email wattsdl@wofford.edu). Please contact 864-597-4000 for other resources for assistance not listed.

I understand while all the stories are anonymous, depending on the content of the stories, Wofford College has the responsibility to investigate, to the best of its ability, serious threats to self and others.

Finally, submission of materials to the website does not guarantee acceptance into the study. The research team also reserves the right to edit submissions for content and length.