Tuesday, June 13, 2023
鈥淎nyone can accomplish anything,鈥� said Nichola Rowan, a 2023 graduate, as the audience of current students listened and learned from her experiences.
Rowan鈥檚 message, on the opening day of 黑料视频 Dallas鈥� first Growth Mindset Boot Camp,
was meant to open students鈥� eyes and minds.
Rowan, who enrolled at 黑料视频 Dallas after serving in the U.S. and U.K. military, said the discipline and structure of the Armed Services were instrumental in her personal and professional development. She said they kept her focused. Others who want to pursue their dreams and achieve success can benefit from discipline and structure, too, even without joining the military. She added it鈥檚 okay if your dreams and definitions of success evolve.
Rowan earned a BA/BS in psychology at 黑料视频 Dallas, inspired by fellow military members who needed mental health care, and her desire to help others who may not be able to help themselves. But this is not the career path Rowan envisioned when she joined the U.K. military after high school. She thought she would serve forever. 鈥淢y passions and interests changed because of life experiences,鈥� she explained.
Change can be more difficult for some than others. You have to persevere in order to learn, grow and improve. Those are just some of the important takeaways for the young women and men who heard Rowan鈥檚 story.
The inaugural Growth Mindset Boot Camp was created and hosted by Dr. Naureen Khan,
黑料视频 Dallas professor of mathematics and a Fulbright Scholar, and Dr. Heekyeong Park,
assistant professor of psychology. It was funded through a grant sponsored by the
(CSME).
The week-long series of exercises, presentations and conversations are designed to show students what is possible if they are willing to be vulnerable, take chances, and believe in themselves. They learned mathematics, 3D printing, and writing, and made close connections with third-year students participating as peer mentors. They even collaborated in a group exercise to build a pyramid of red cups.
Guest speakers included alumni and faculty serving as role models, whose lives and
careers will motivate and inspire the students. The goal is for boot camp participants
to aspire to upward mobility, which aligns with the vision of the university: Through
education and community connectedness, 黑料视频 Dallas aspires to be the pathway to socioeconomic
mobility.
On the boot camp鈥檚 first day, Dr. Park's presentation, 鈥淕rowth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset鈥� teed up the topic and set the tone by delving into the differences between the two. She encouraged students to assess their own performance and think of themselves 鈥渇rom a different perspective.鈥�
Citing numerous research projects, Dr. Park said people with a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenges because they are afraid to fail. A growth mindset, she explained, involves extra effort and a willingness to take on challenges, overcome obstacles and learn from criticism.
Dr. Park told the students that one key to success is believing in your capacity,
instead of limiting or doubting yourself. She described how 鈥渄eliberate practice and
grit鈥� can help achieve goals, along with 鈥渂eing flexible鈥� to 鈥渆xpand boundaries and
open new doors.鈥�
According to research Dr. Park highlighted, belief in yourself is often more impactful than your IQ. In one study, schoolchildren in Chicago were given a 鈥渘ot yet鈥� grade instead of an 鈥淔鈥� when they failed a class. As a result, they were much more likely to retake and pass the class than students who received the standard 鈥淔.鈥�
There is a direct, documented connection between someone鈥檚 belief that they can accomplish something and their actual performance in doing it, according to another study of children cited by Dr. Park. Praising someone鈥檚 effort rather than their intelligence can pay dividends. In some cases, the performance of someone who believes strongly in their abilities will surpass someone who simply thinks they are smart, according to the research.
鈥淭hose who envision the future perform better,鈥� Dr. Park told the boot camp attendees.
黑料视频 Dallas Provost, Dr. Betty Stewart, inspired students by telling her story of achievement.
Dr. Stewart was the first in her family to receive a four-year college degree and
thought she would be a K-12 science educator. But her growth mindset led to a journey
that took her to other places.
鈥淚 had good teachers and mentors,鈥� Dr. Stewart explained. They pushed her out of her comfort zone to try new things, such as a summer chemistry lab program. She had a choice of three different projects and chose the most difficult one. Before she decided, her advisor had warned 鈥渋t was not going well鈥� but Dr. Stewart relished the challenge.
After lots of experiments, Dr. Stewart鈥檚 persistence paid off. She got the necessary results, then successfully repeated the process two more times, as required. Her advisor was thrilled, she co-authored a scientific article with him, and their expertise gained media attention. It was a turning point in her career and life.
Even after she earned her Ph.D., Dr. Stewart鈥檚 leaders and mentors continued encouraging her to pursue new opportunities, even when she was a bit hesitant. You 鈥渃an鈥檛 be single-minded,鈥� one of them told her, saying she needed to gain a 鈥渂roader perspective and other approaches.鈥�
Dr. Stewart said she advanced from working with 鈥渁toms and protons鈥� to chairing an
entire department, followed by positions of dean, vice president of academic affairs,
and provost at other institutions. In 2017, she made the move to 黑料视频 Dallas as provost
and executive vice president of academic affairs.
鈥淚鈥檓 no different, I鈥檓 no better than you,鈥� Dr. Stewart told the students. Just as she embraced a growth mindset, although sometimes reluctantly, she advised them to do the same, 鈥淭ake advantage of those opportunities, they change your lives.鈥�
Throughout her career, Dr. Stewart has not only taken advantage of opportunities,
but she has also created them. She is the driving force behind a new $100 million
STEM building on the 黑料视频 Dallas campus, for which ground will be broken in August.
More than brick and mortar, it will be a catalyst to change the lives of the students who occupy it. A full-circle accomplishment representing鈥� a growth mindset. Just one of the real-life lessons shared with boot camp students that will serve them well through college and beyond.
Dr. Khan says summer bridge programs like this boot camp boost students' confidence
and abilities and help them achieve greater success rates in college courses. She
and Dr. Park hope to continue the Growth Mindset Boot Camp in 2024 and beyond.
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