THE SEVEN C’S OF RESILIENCE

AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT’S JOURNEY

Re-sil-ience (Oxford Languages) ~Noun The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.

Dr. Ginsberg, a pediatrician and human development expert, proposes that there are seven integral and interrelated components that make up resilience. Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, Contribution, Coping and Control. It’s interesting to note how these categories can be applied to our International students at Aberdeen Hall.

Can you imagine leaving home to study on the other side of the world in another language and live with a family you don’t know…. at the age of 14? Could you consider saying good-bye to your son or daughter, knowing you won’t see them again for 10 months? Or not being able to see them for two years, as has been the case with many of our international families throughout the Covid-19 pandemic? Most of our International students plan to study at Aberdeen Hall until graduation, meaning their formative years are influenced by another culture, another family, another school. How do they manage? How do they cope? It’s called resilience, and our International students have it in spades, slaying the definition of ‘elasticity’! Let’s put this in perspective with a few highlights: Competence - from the minisuccesses that are learned and earned along their journey; in acquiring language skills and completing academic studies using English - a 2nd or 3rd language,effectively learning and managing social-emotional control and time-management skills. Confidence - a work in progress that takes place over hours, days, weeks and years. It comes from milestones such as grasping the nuances of understanding and making a joke, the simple heart tug of being acknowledged by classmates, in feeling a part of the school community and from realizing they have authentic survival skills as they learn to navigate the challenging world around them.

Connection - with their host family, with pets in the home (something we take for granted), with teachers and school staff and classmates who reach out and validate them, with fellow international students who live the same challenges, and through recognizing and trusting they are living in a safe community. Character - built in spades when leaving their home, family, friends, country and everything familiar - to plunge head first into the unknown. To live in a home with people they don’t know, to eat food that is unfamiliar, be surrounded by a language largely foreign to them and to breathe deep, hide their fears and tears and soldier on!

Contributing - to the school by participating in academics, music, the arts and athletics, to the Aberdeen Hall and Kelowna community through volunteering, and by sharing responsibility in the host family home Coping - with loneliness, fear, sadness, frustration, isolation. To learn that actions produce consequences. Control - of their day to day lives through staying focused on their studies, honoring their parents’ dreams, keeping their goals in sight and alive. Navigating their future, day by day, and through demonstrated responsibility. Our International students are on the Honor Roll, they play on Aberdeen Hall sports teams, and they volunteer in the school and with community organizations; in short, they are pretty incredible! Of course, this is not without a huge shout out to everyone along the way who supports, guides and nurtures their resilience; our teachers, school staff, our host families. You, the Aberdeen Hall family, are an integral part of helping our International students’ on their journey of resilience.

By Elaine Crebo, International Admissions Officer