The Resilience Zone

To wrap up Season 2 of The Resilience Zone, we flipped the script! On this episode, our Executive Producer, teacher and coach Andrew Harding, hosts Anyia and a future host of The Resilience Zone, Janessa, as guests for the week. They talk about the importance of focusing on mental health, overcoming the stigma of going to therapy, and what actions could be taken to build a more resilience-friendly environment at school, especially for their peers facing substance abuse. They also talk about their future hopes and dreams for The Resilience Zone podcast.

Today’s high school students are under unprecedented levels of stress, and some lack the coping skills to deal with the difficulties of their own trauma. Easily-abused substances have never been easier to hide or obtain. On this episode, Anyia sits down with two of her high school peers for an honest conversation about the trauma they have faced in their own families due to substance abuse, and how similar patterns show up on a daily basis at school. They also discuss the climate of reporting drug use at school, and how the criminalization of certain behaviors can make students afraid to speak up or seek help for their issues.

Resilience comes in many different forms. For Elijah, a 15-year-old youth pastor, it’s a spiritual experience. In his church and community, Elijah works with many young people who have difficulty coping with the trauma in their life. His goal is to meet people where they are, without judgment, and to use his faith to guide them toward more effective, sustainable, and resilient coping mechanisms. Anyia and Elijah discuss the challenge of aiding those trapped in cycles of abuse, especially substance abuse, and how they can make a difference, particularly with other people of color.

As a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist, Alicia Freeman knows a lot about trauma. She also brings forward a unique perspective as a Native American in the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe. She and Anyia discuss addiction as a condition and the root causes of substance abuse, including how her own familial experiences with substance abuse, ACEs, and incarceration led her to pursue therapy as a career. She also gives practical advice for young people who may be facing mental health challenges, like substance abuse or black-and-white thinking, as a result of trauma.

Zamiyah Howell is still a student at Tarboro High School, but she already has big plans. She already started a business to help women develop their self-image and succeed as entrepreneurs. She also plays volleyball and is headed to an HBCU to major in psychology. In this episode, she and Anyia talk about self-esteem and its ability to influence behavior and agency. They speak frankly about the shortcomings they see at school, and how it could be improved with a better understanding of the trauma, substance abuse, and addiction many students experience.

Anyia interviews her former school counselor, Ms. Eulanda Thorne, about trauma, resilience, and helping people heal. Today, Ms. Thorne is no longer a school counselor. As program manager for the NC Center for Resilience and Learning, she supports young people in building resilience, traveling to schools across the state to provide resilience training for teachers and students. Ms. Thorne was also crowned Ms. Black North Carolina 2022! On this episode, she and Anyia discuss the connections between trauma and substance abuse, and how they have manifested in their personal experiences with loved ones.

Even doctors can abuse drugs. Just ask Dr. Stephen Loyd, a Tennessee doctor who self-medicated his anxiety and depression with opiates for many years. Dr. Loyd got sober by processing the childhood trauma he had repressed for most of his life. The experience was transformative, leading him to refocus his career on addiction and trauma-informed resilience work. In this episode, Dr. Loyd shares some difficult truths with our student host, Anyia Hardy, in the Season 2 premiere of the Resilience Zone.

Meet our new host for Season 2 of The Resilience Zone: Anyia Hardy! She'll be interviewing our guests this season on their resilience strategies and more.

This is the season finale for The Resilience Zone. In this episode, hosts Elijah and Gabby are joined by the rest of the podcast team — executive producers Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder and our editor Alli Lindenberg. We talk about the driving why of the project, the process we used, and what we hope the impact of the show will be.

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.

Following a death in her family, Gabby took some time to be with her loved ones and grieve. She missed the podcast and is grateful to be back for this conversation. In this episode, Gabby and Elijah discuss the restore tool for resiliency. They talk about how to move through shame and find understanding.

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.

Many of us can remember where we were on September 11, 2001, but for some, the attacks on the Twin Towers hit closer to home. In this episode, small business owner and Tarboro community leader, Inez Ribustello joins the podcast to talk about life after a big trauma. Elijah asks her how she found resilience after such a challenging experience and Inez shares how she’s lost it and found it time and time again since.

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.

This week, Elijah talks to his former coach and teacher, Andy Harding. The conversation focuses on connections and how those relationships can be impactful for people on their journey to finding resilience. Harding is a social studies teacher and assistant football coach at Tarboro High School. He is also one of the executive producers for this podcast.

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.

In this episode, Elijah interviews education leader Donnell Cannon. Cannon was a principal in Edgecombe County, Elijah’s home county, for 5 years and is now the executive director of district transformation and redesign for the school district. The two talk about resources — what they are, where to find them, and how to utilize them for resilience.

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.

Gabby and Elijah are back to talk about another resilience tool. In this episode they discuss the highlight tool, which they use to find positivity no matter what’s going on in their lives. Listen here to learn more about the tool and how these students utilize it on a daily basis.

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.

In this very first episode of the podcast, student hosts Elijah and Gabby explain what a rapid reset tool is. Specifically, they talk about the tool of “sensing in” to our bodies to move through stress and anxiety.

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.

There is a lot of terminology in this show that may be new for people. In this trailer, hosts Elijah and Gabby define the terms you will hear throughout the season.

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.

What is resilience anyway? Elijah and Gabby, our student hosts, explain in this trailer. Listen now to learn what’s coming soon on The Resilience Zone!

The Resilience Zone is a project of The Rural Opportunity Institute with support from EducationNC. Our executive producers are Andrew Harding and Rachel Hyder. Our supervising producer and editor is Alli Lindenberg with help from Ryan Jones.