Finding Your Sweet Spot

Finding Your Sweet SpotThe Intersection ofKnowledge + Passion

Finding Your Sweet Spot For Storytelling -Jason John

Finding Your Sweet SpotKnowledgePassion

Content Inc. by Joe Pulizzi

Finding Your Sweet SpotKnowledgePassion

Lets review some conceptsYellowIs the color of gold, butter and ripe lemons. In the spectrum of visible light, yellow is found between green and orange.RedIs the color of blood, and because of this it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger and courage.

BlueIs the colour of the clear sky and the deep sea. It is located between violet and green on the optical spectrum.RedIs the color of blood, and because of this it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger and courage.

Lets review some conceptsYellowIs the color of gold, butter and ripe lemons. In the spectrum of visible light, yellow is found between green and orange.RedIs the color of blood, and because of this it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger and courage.

BlueIs the colour of the clear sky and the deep sea. It is located between violet and green on the optical spectrum.RedIs the color of blood, and because of this it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger and courage.

MatPats Sweet SpotMath/AnalyticsVideo Games

Michelle Phans Sweet SpotArtMakeup

Finding Your Sweet SpotKnowledgePassion

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Arthur Ashe

KnowledgeIs information acquired about a particular subject through study or observationKnowledge + SkillSkillIs the ability to do something well or an area that a person has expertise or competenece.

Knowledge AreasWWF 80sClassic RockNBALinkedInTeaCultureKnowledge / SkillsSpecial SkillsComplex Sales CyclesRelationship ManagementSelf Deprecating Humour

PassionsFamilyTechnologySupporting StudentsCareer Development

Jasons Sweet SpotRelationship ManagementTechnology

Go Forth + Build ContentIntersection of Knowledge + PassionFinding your sweet spotPassion is what gives drive to build succesful content

Thanks!You can find me at:https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jasonjohnlinkedin@jasonjohntweetsjasonjohn@ryerson.ca

Finding Your Sweet Spot

ConnectRU: Experience. Excel. Evolve. -Kait Taylor-Asquini

Resilience and Flourishing -Diana Brecher

Mental Health Resilience - Lessons Learned from over 86 Student Stories -Natalie Roach

What & Why

The FCCP Mental Health resilience award was created by the Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals Education Foundation to decrease stigma related to mental health issues and mental illness.

The aim of the award is to celebrate the academic and personal achievements of undergraduate students with mental health challenges.

Students needed to submit a 500 word essay describing their mental health challenges, their efforts to overcome such challenges in order to continue with their post-secondary studies and examples of personal and academic achievements and successes.

In total, 88 applications were submitted to the Convocation and Awards Office, and given to the selection committee to vet and select award recipients one part time one full time award of $1000 each. This was the second highest number of applicants of any award at Ryerson, second only to women in leadership.

How (did we select) creating rubric, our experience

Cue me sitting in the prairies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, politely (as is custom in the Prairies) winding up my work as the Campus Mental Health Facilitator there. I had started to work in my off hours on a part time basis for Ryerson to help out with the coordination and planning of Mindfest an all-day mental health and wellness fair, happening in early October.

An email from Gayalook at this wonderful award! Me I agree how wonderful! Gaya can you create a rubric to assess, evaluate and ultimately eliminate all but two harrowing stories of students personal journeys, struggles and triumphs with mental health? Meumwill you still let me start full time in the role if I dont? Gaya silence.

So, I drafted a rubric the committee, made up of myself, Juannittah Kamera (Health Promotions Program Coordinator), Rabia Idrees (VP Equity, RSU) and Gaya, gave input we finalized it and decided on the following criteria: description of mental health challenges, severity of mental health challenges, efforts made to overcome challenges to continue with post-secondary studies and examples and description of academic and/or personal outcomes. We then set about the task of evaluating 88 applications for the FCCP award.

We read them individually first, using the rubric to score each, and then met in Gayas office for a huddle, over three steaming hot teas, to compare notes and determine the award recipient.

Its really hard to determine winners of an award like this.

We struggled as a committee with questions such as awarding the most harrowing/extreme account? Do we reward the most classic route to recovery and treatment (e.g., medical model focus) or honour a more personally guided, self-set path? It was important albeit difficult to not focus on the prose and presentation of the applications.

The academic in me struggled with this. And by academic I mean perennial student. The key was to focus on the four criteria we outlined, and use that as our guide.

These were 88 stories of the depths of despair, the unfathomable lows and dark days these students experienced. The truth of this experience in our student population is made apparent by the fact mentioned earlier that this was the second highest application number of any Ryerson award again, second only to the Women and Leadership award.

So clearly an avenue to capture this experience, which this award presented, struck a chord with our students.

What got me through each of these stories, however, were the places of strength that almost all of these 88 students were speaking from when they wrote their stories. A place of wisdom gained through experience, of an ability to share a part of their life that was harrowing, dark and difficult from a vantage point of peace or understanding or acceptance, or most common, a mixture of all three.

Going through the stories, I was struck the most by the following

Unusual suspects The path to resiliency to walked with usual and unusual suspects. Students mentioned the incredible support of the Access Centre, CSDC, and the CSDC groups. There were also the unsuspected, such as caring professors, program chairs, and department assistants. One amazing passage read without the guidance of program director, entire faculty, I would not be where I am today. We sat down together and made a plan, laid out all of my options, and this encouraged me not to give up. Another student mentioned the power of the urban environment at Ryerson as being healing at first intimidating and then something that wove itself into their identity and helped them feel a part of something new, vibrant and larger.

Power of pen journaling and writing are incredibly healing for our students. Students mentioned writing down all of their negative feelings, and then revisiting them to process. Others mentioned making a gratitude list, or just writing down things that were going well. Usually, just the act of writing was enough to build resilience and foster healing; having an outlet available any time where one could be uncensored, vulnerable and candid. One student indicated that she is writing a script for a play that features leads who are working through their own struggles with mental health challenges.

Giving back ENORMOUS, power of giving back through mentorship, volunteering was strengthening, healing and sustaining for students. Transformational really. Many students mentioned the huge impact that being there for other students had, either through mentorship and volunteering on campus or with organizations off campus. I saw mention of Meals on Wheels, Salvation Army, Central Toronto Youth Services. Some of the feedback I volunteered with two organizations in the community that forced me to confront my social anxiety, and it was hugely helpful to see that I could handle myself and help, and another It gives me a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I am able to make a meaningful difference in another persons life.

Future (what can we do, where can we focus) - Two pulses ran through the stories:

Power of seeing yourself differently. Through seeing oneself differently as an individual with the ability to give back, with something to share, experience to pass on and the ability to offer support students built resilience and healing. This was echoed by one of the recipients of the Mental Health Leadership Award. This award was created and funded by RSU, and recognized mental health leaders on campus. One of the award recipients indicated I never saw myself as a leader until I read your application criteria and reflected on my storyI was able to see what I have done to give leadership in this area.

Power of Kindness recognize small part we all play. Each of these students spoke of people that they finally reached out to, or that reached out to them, and made a difference. This ranged from peers, a friend that noticed, receptive and welcoming faculty and administrators, Student Affairs staff, and even unknown classmates extending an unexpected kind gesture. This to me speaks of the ability of all of us to be part of what helps someone be resilient and heal. Each of these people chose to just listen, be kind, reach out, provide information just be with this person in some way. That is something we dont need any training to do, we have it right now.

Connecting the #RyersonSA Pillars with a String -SanjidAnik & Tharsy Selvanantham

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