My path to becoming a Schriever RTA

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES

12.12.2017

Story by Senior Airman Arielle Vasquez 

50th Space Wing

When one hears the word ‘resiliency,’ the mind may drift to its definition - ‘the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.’

Before being introduced to the Schriever Resilience Program, I too was familiar with this term; however, I have learned resiliency means so much more than that.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to interview Jessica Schroeder, the 50th Space Wing community support coordinator. During our discussion, she asked if I would like to join the team of resilience training assistants.

At first, I had many questions and was unsure of what to expect, but after reading the course material she provided, my interest grew and I told her to count me in. From that point, I was signed up and ready to learn alongside other Airmen.

The three-day course contained a lot of information. For half of the time there, we had the opportunity to learn from several master resiliency trainers about skill sets to implement in our lives.

In all, there are 11 Comprehensive Airmen Fitness Resilience skills. Some of these skills are gratitude, balance your thinking, values-based goals, capitalizing on strengths, interpersonal problem solving, spiritual and physical health.

Throughout the course, we were encouraged to share personal stories and experiences we faced whether it be times of adversity, evaluating facts during conflict and problem solving for personal and professional relationships.

Initially, I had a difficult time putting my stories out there for the class to hear, but soon realized we were all in the same shoes and found myself becoming more comfortable.

During the second half of the course, everyone was given a time slot to teach specific skills to the class. Those moments were meant to test what knowledge was acquired from the lessons.

It seemed most of us were nervous about this portion of the training, especially myself. Even though I am in a career field that constantly involves meeting and engaging with new people and situations, there are times where I still have difficulty with public speaking. However after talking with some of my fellow classmates, I realized this moment wasn’t about us, the instructors; it’s about our audience and successfully getting their attention.

A lesson that especially struck a chord with me was mindfulness. Even before taking the resilience course, this skill has been one I practice in my daily life. Mindfulness is strengthening awareness and openness, allowing you to refocus on aspects that you have control over and can take purpose.

Anyone can practice this in a way that that is meaningful to them. For me, it is yoga and meditation. For others, that can be a few moments of silence or taking walks. The 30-minute module I taught was a truly educational experience and I look forward to teaching this again along with the other ten modules.

The lessons serve the purpose of teaching new Airmen, squadrons and units on base how to become more resilient. I believe it is of upmost importance for more Airmen to become qualified to teach the resiliency training material in order to take what they have learned back to their work centers and homes.

Not only is this beneficial on a personal level, but to those around you as well.

While resiliency means having those qualities within you to face adversity, what matters is to first understand how the skills and concepts help during difficult situations. Once we understand this, we are more equipped with knowledge of how to take care of ourselves and others.

I am grateful and proud to call myself one of Schriever’s resiliency training assistants and I look forward to what I can offer to my wingmen, and in turn receive the support from other MRT’s and RTA’s I have met along the way.

• Date Taken: 12.12.2017
• Date Posted: 12.12.2017 17:28
• Story ID: 258546
• Location: COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, US