Did you know that the theme of this year’s Three Books is resilience? That’s right. RESILIENCE. Check out The Stanford Report article “Resilience is the Theme of Stanford’s Summer Reading Program for Incoming Students”.

Why is Resilience So Important?

Odds are, Stanford will challenge you in ways you have not experienced before. You will be adjusting to whatever is new about this environment (first time in the U.S.? first time away from parents? first time being one of thousands of cool smart people?) in ways that are unfamiliar, foreign, and sometimes… even uncomfortable for you.  Resilience is important because it is capacity to adapt and respond to the changes and challenges around you. And hoo-boy, you’re going to be going through plenty of changes!

What does Stanford say about Resilience?

We started a whole initiative just for resilience. It’s called The Resilience Project. Our staff, our faculty, our alumni, and your fellow students, all care about resilience.

The Resilience Project is a resource that uses personal narratives, programming, and coaching to motivate and support students as they experience academic setbacks. We emphasize the importance of failure in the learning process and seek to instill a sense of belonging and bravery in students to ultimately change the campus perception of failure from something to be avoided at all costs, to something essential to a rich education.

If you have not had the opportunity to check out The Resilience Project, visit our website and follow us on Twitter.

Back to Three Books

While you read, think about reflecting on the theme of resilience not only in the books but in your life. The more you are willing to share with others, the more they’ll be willing to share with you. And a cornerstone of resilience is friendship and support.