Students were offered a workshop on Wed. Oct. 4 about staying motivated to finish their college careers.

The “Got Grit” workshop, presented in Savitz Hall 218, focused on helping students find resilience to complete their goals as students. The presentation was another addition to the “Brown Bag Series,” coordinated by the Academic Success Center.

Senior psychology major Kari Brown and graduate intern Taryn Cooper were the two life coaches who gave the prepared presentation. For the Brown Bag Series, the presentations are prepared by ASCEND, the Academic Reboot Center and Academic Success Center.

“Got Grit” was one of four presentations selected for the Fall 2017 semester. The topics are selected earlier in the year and plotted out throughout the semester.

“We meet each year to decide topics we believe relevant to success in and outside the classroom,” said the director of the Academic Success Center John Woodruff. “We rotate in and out each year and add in new ones.”

Woodruff felt that the presentation could help students be reminded they have resources to turn to when they face challenges in the semester.

“Grit and resilience are both very important for students to know it is ok to ask for help when they need it and that they don’t have to go through difficult times alone,” he said via email. “The workshops provide resources for students to use as needed and refer back to.”

“We also email the power point to students afterwards,” he added.

Key points in the presentation stressed by Brown and Cooper were having self-discipline when it comes to staying motivated for school. The term “grit” comes from the idea that people have a trait to stay motivated and achieve their goals.

An idea Brown and Cooper stressed most is having to face fears. Brown wanted to stress that thinking positive will create positive outcome.

“The presentation is about having ambition in your life and being the student you need to be, and have a successful school year,” Brown said. “You can take these tools and skills and use them in everyday life.”

“Know your strengths and your weaknesses, because you can build off of your weaknesses as they can eventually become your strengths,” she added.

The Brown Bag Series will continue next week with a workshop titled “Ace Your Midterms” from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. in Savitz 218. “Setting Yourself Up for Success,” and “Stop Procrastinating” are two more workshops that will be presented later in the semester.

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