Survey Results
Curricular Survey responses:
We asked: what does thriving mean to you now? (In this context, at this moment, after this full semester, and after having completed PhotoVoice).
Overview
In their responses, ten first-year students (SSH 102) and fourteen fourth-year students (PSY 706) stated that thriving can hold multiple meanings and is a unique experience for the individual. Students’ responses reflect how thriving speaks to a collective sense of unity with others and the need for strong social relationships. Additionally, students shared that they had a greater appreciation for a wide variety of emotional experiences, recognizing those moments of peace and happiness. Living in the present evoked feelings of gratitude, the inevitability of unpleasant emotions and the importance of hardships in the process of personal growth. Students conveyed that thriving speaks to an overall sense of health and well-being beyond external accomplishments. Responses reflect that students are thriving and living for themselves when they engage in experiences that allow them to cultivate their concept of self and well-being, when they connect with nature, and when they can express themselves authentically with others. Further, responses expressed that the process of achieving their goals is as important and indicative of thriving as achieving the end result/goal for which they strived. Students’ reflections also articulated the power of experiential knowledge and connection with others in the process of cultivating new perspectives.
Themes regarding ‘Thriving’ that emerged from the curricular responses:
- There is no such thing as a single way to thrive: everyone experiences it differently
- Thriving involves focusing on your mental health amid a global pandemic
- Thriving involves self-discovery, growth, and being your best self
- Being able to practice gratitude for moments of peace and happiness in life, and feeling satisfied with the present state of life
- Being present in the moment
- The notion of holistic health and becoming mindful of emotional, physical, mental health
- Being connected to nature, friends, family and community
- Understanding that thriving, while unique to each individual is a collective experience, it brings a sense of connectedness with others
In addition to the full survey results, which can be found in Appendix K, we selected some of the comments made by our students to illustrate the range of responses they provided in the survey. These are organized according to two categories: what it means to thrive and the impact of participating in the PhotoVoice project.
- What it means to thrive:
“In this moment, due to the struggles of school in a pandemic, and various personal struggles, thriving means finding myself and motivation daily to do the things that I love and inspire me.” -First-year student (mentee)
“Thriving to me means that I don’t have to be the best at everything, it just means I must be the best for myself. Thriving means to live for yourself, do the things that you like and to live your life on your own terms.“ -Fourth-year student (mentor)
“…I was someone who explored the world, found inspiration in everything and everyone and wanted to constantly be a better version of myself before I needed to have a “reason” for everything: I just lived without fear of failure. To thrive would be to find this person again within myself and nurture her.” -First-year student (mentee)
“…thriving means working towards and accomplishing your goals. I feel great about my performance in this academic semester, and I realize that I was thriving even when I had to spend long hours finishing some assignments and studying for midterms.” -Fourth-year student (mentor)
“All the things that I have learned from either a positive or negative light, have made me grateful that as long as I keep going in life regardless of the imperfections and hurdles I face, I will continue to thrive.” -First-year student (mentee)
“It is also possible to be thriving while not always feeling the same positive emotions, sometimes the times in life where you are being challenged are times where you can grow and thrive from that experience.” -Fourth-year student (mentor)
“…but I feel like sometimes I got caught up in the question of “Ok what is next ” rather than “Wow what I am doing is really fun and I am so lucky”. I definitely will be looking at life and journey in a different light.” -First-year student (mentee)
“Thriving, to me, means prioritizing myself, my health, and my wellness. For me this looks like going to therapy, spending time with loved ones, and engaging in activities that bring me joy. It also means putting in the work necessary to achieve that. Most importantly, thriving to me means doing my best, however, I need to define thriving in a specific space and at a specific time. As explained in one of the PhotoVoice meetings, “thriving is active”, it is making things happen, not passive acceptance.” -Fourth-year student (mentor)
“The world is all interconnected – the services that we receive on an everyday basis work hand in hand with one another. I believe that the same should happen with education in order to collectively thrive towards a better future.” -First-year student (mentee)
- Participation in the PhotoVoice project
“…we are in the process of thriving by learning to thrive. I loved seeing and learning about what makes people thrive, it made me so happy.” -First-year student (mentee)
“I am very happy to have been a part of this assignment and will continue to use some of the lessons I have learned about thriving in the future.” -Fourth-year student (mentor)
“This assignment reminded me of the person I used to be.” -First-year student (mentee)
“After witnessing people’s experience in thriving, I found we all shared common ground in holding thriving as something of high importance in the current moment, whether it was travelling, exercising, academics, or stepping outside of our comfort zone.” -Fourth-year student (mentor)
“Before this semester and PhotoVoice, I used to only acknowledge academic and spiritual challenges. Through the course of this semester and the experience of PhotoVoice, I have learned to overcome and thrive despite physical and social challenges.” -First-year student (mentee)
Co-Curricular Survey Responses:
We asked: what does thriving mean to you now? (In this context, at this moment, after this full semester, and after having completed PhotoVoice).
Overview
In their responses, students acknowledged their own meaning of what thriving means to them and its connection to tackling adversity towards achieving their own goals. Eight of the ten students responded to the question, with all eight having positive responses about what thriving means to them. Students also acknowledged the importance of physical, mental and social wellness in addition they also recognized that thriving in their own experiences also relates to having positive emotions.
Themes regarding ‘thriving’ that emerged from the responses:
- Thriving involves tackling adversity in difficult environments
- Thriving involves positive emotions
- Thriving involves cultivating a supportive environment to achieve goals
- Thriving involves supporting one’s mental and physical health
In addition to the full survey results, which can be found in Appendix J we selected some of the comments made by our students to illustrate the range of responses they provided in the survey. Two main themes are found within the comments: what it means to thrive and the connection made between thriving and overcoming challenges to achieve goals.
- What it means to thrive:
“Thriving means taking care of my health and reaching out for help when I need it. It entails creating the conditions so that i can thrive in ways that are attainable and relevant to my goals/desires, e.g., taking medication, keeping my space clean and exercising daily allows me to feel at my best so i can study, explore my hobbies and engage in my communities.” Second-year student (mentor)
“To me thriving means doing well in situations that may be difficult, or doing well on something challenging and being able to achieve the desired outcome.” Second-year student (mentor)
“Thriving to me means pushing myself to be the best version of myself, and getting myself physically and mentally to a state where I am able to perform to the best of my abilities, effectively grounding myself to deal with the challenges we all face everyday and above all, being happy” Second-year student (mentor)
“Thriving is doing well, happy with what I am doing, and recognizing that I need to learn more but unafraid of the challenges ahead of me.” Second-year student (mentor)
“When you can unlock your full potential by doing something that generates a good impact for you or others.” First-year student (mentee)
