The Power of Resilience!
By Dr. Jenn Burleson Full Professor- Student-Athlete Support Program Coordinator: Athletic Counselor.
I was a small, insecure, and a quiet little girl with very few friends. I walked around the playground often alone and sad. I came to find out I slipped through the cracks and in the 3rd grade I could not read. After a few meetings with my parents, the school administration and myself, I was tested and diagnosed with a learning disability. I was immediately put into RSP (Resource Specialist Program) classes. I was retained and went through the 3rd grade a second time. I was made fun of and sometimes bullied. My heart hurt. I was sad. I didn’t let that stop me. I had more focus being educated in small classes through elementary school and started making greater progress in my studies.
Athletics was my lifeline and along the way, I became a competitive student-athlete. Once I realized that my talent on the playing field could be my ticket to college that became my drive and motivation to study harder even though I “learned differently”. In high school I had several Athletic Scholarship opportunities, accepted one of them, beating the odds - as many of our student-athletes have also done here at MSJC. I am not sure that I would have gone to college if it wasn’t for Athletics giving me the drive and motivation to continue. Now, I have completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work, Master of Science degree in Counseling, and Doctorate in Educational Leadership and last year was elevated to Full Professor at MSJC. My husband and I also have owned three successful businesses in the local community, helping transform the lives of others through health and fitness. Challenges shape individuals' lives; its just a matter of being resilient to those challenges that determines whether one can be successful in the outcome!
Don’t be a product of the cards you are dealt. Be a product of the decisions you make and the risks you take.
Still I Stand
Tyler Christopher – Guest Speaker: Former MSJC Living Book, Current UCR student
I am a fourth-year Business student at The University of California at Riverside. My concentration is in Management. I have plans to continue my education, possibly transferring to the public service sector. My road has been tough but rewarding in this journey and I’ve learned that as long as I don’t give up, I will always be great.
My Meningioma Story
By Erika Mendivil – Learning Dis/abilities Specialist, PALS Program Instructor
I started working at MSJC as a Sign Language interpreter in 2010, working with our Deaf student population. I then transitioned to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Coordinator position in the ASC office. I was a single mom of two young kids, with a determined mind to better our lives and set an example. I received my bachelor’s degree and then I decided to pursue my master's degree in Special Education --and added a certification for Learning Disability Specialist. I transitioned to Instructor for the PALS (Personalized Academic Learning Skills) program.
My partner and I decided to get married right in the middle of Covid (Aug 2020) and have a baby and our baby girl was born December 25th, 2021, at 12:25pm, yup a Christmas baby! My family was growing, I was passionate about my work - life was good until… things twisted.
At 8 weeks post-partum I started having really bad headaches. I ignored them until I was not able to handle the pain. I went to the emergency room and found out I had a tumor the size of a tangerine pressing on my brain. I had brain surgery two weeks later. Surgery went well however there have been a few things that I have been dealing with since including my vision, insomnia, and anxiety. I am still learning to adapt to all the sudden changes and my new lifestyle. I find myself practicing what I have been teaching my own students. One thing this experience has taught me is that it is hard to advocate for yourself.
But My Nipples are Brown: Surviving Trauma, Cancer, and the Demons Within
By Dr. Anjeanette Oberg: Associate Professor & Co-Chair Psychology Department
I am a high school dropout turned Psychology Professor. Being a psychologist does not make me immune from mental illness. In fact, I have endured a number of traumas over my lifetime, which increases my risk. I am a child abuse survivor, sexual abuse survivor, suicide loss survivor, robbery survivor, domestic violence survivor, and most recently cancer "survivor", I use that word loosely.
Cancer was very traumatic for me, because I faced losing my breasts, which were one of the few things that reflected my heritage as a Native Hawaiian woman. Both my gender identity and my ethnic identity were at risk, which compounded the agony and torment of every treatment decision for me.
Thankfully, I found a wonderful doctor who understood the complex interplay of our physical and psychological health and well-being, and she recommended a treatment plan that allowed me to save my life AND my breasts.
My story is about my cancer journey, its intersection with my ethnic identity, and the collective impact it has had on my mental health. I will also share my story of healing. It is a process, and I am in the beginning steps, which is why I describe myself as SURVIVING rather than as a survivor. There is much work to be done, but I am so thankful for all of the resources and support I have with me in the journey and all the people I have come to love and adore through this experience.
There Is No Try Only Do
By Faith Owen – MSJC Student
I am 30 years old as of this month, and this is my first semester back in school in 11 years. This is my first time back in school since learning I am far from “a-typical”. Growing up life was hard. I experienced a lot of trauma and over time that fueled me. I always thought I just had it different, not worse than most.
Right out of high school I went to college, and I was also working full-time. I found out that halfway through the second year fall semester I was pregnant. I withdrew from all my classes and lived the life of a mother and retail worker. But during this time I would get diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder, Adhd, Ptsd, Generalized Anxiety Disorder as well as several physical ailments including rheumatoid arthritis which is an auto-immune disorder. Despite all this, I want to give back. I want to be a teacher and an advocate for children. I want to be the person I wish I had had when I was young.
I was so scared to come back to school, but I've realized if you want something, work for it, and have passion, doors will open. So always stay hopeful!
Pushing Past Other's Expectations
By Sergio Perez – MSJC Student
Throughout my life, I have struggled with education. In elementary, I got held back in kindergarten; in 5th grade, I was put in special needs classes and I remained in the classes from elementary to high school. I remember how I felt ashamed and embarrassed because they had placed me there. Sometimes the schools I went to would take me out of the classes and put me in "regular classes," but I was always placed back in special needs with no explanation. I felt like I was not a capable individual. Finally, in 11th grade found out that I had a learning disability.
After high school I knew I needed to find a career that made a livable wage but I did not believe I was capable or intelligent enough to choose anything else so I decided to become a firefighter because I thought I did not need to take "hard classes; it should be okay." I did not know anything about college, and coming from a Latino, single parent household made college challenging and because of my learning disability, I failed lower-level Math classes at MSJC multiple times; I just couldn't pass them.
So I took a break from college and worked as an EMT and got to work with firefighters. I learned that was not my passion. So I decided to go back to college; I was initially skeptical, but I started taking more STEM courses and connected with some of my professors who shared their struggles with education; one had been diagnosed with ADHD. Another professor said he had failed many classes and struggled with Math. Learning that my professors had academic struggles motivated me and helped me see myself in STEM, and Science got to be my passion. And now, I am going to be a Medical Laboratory Scientist major.
Finding the Ability in My Disabilities: From Struggling Student to Professor
By Jeremy Rogers – Department Chair: ASL Interpretation & Translation
At the age of 35, I have finally begun to understand my disabilities more holistically. I spent much of my college career battling undiagnosed bipolar disorder and ADHD, and was not diagnosed until my first year of graduate school. My diagnosis came as a shock, and I took it rather personally that I had a mental health disorder, especially because mental health was not something that was discussed in my family.
Working with a mental health team, I was able to finally get the help I never knew I always needed. I have been mitigating living with bipolar disorder and ADHD for the last eight years and have learned so much through the process of learning more about what it means to be mentally well. Finding the support I needed allowed me to maximize my potential and chase the dreams I always had for myself, but never believed I was capable of achieving. A diagnosis doesn’t have to be the end of the road.
For me, it was the beginning of a new journey of self-discovery and appreciation for everything that makes me who I am.