My grandmother lived through times of intense racism, the 1918 influenza pandemic, the Depression, two world wars, and the Korean and Vietnam wars, and she saw the civil rights movement get underway. She lost her husband early in life, during a time when society added even more economic challenges to women in such a situation. She raised three children on her own following his death — all thriving as adults. One was my father, an electrician for the city of Seattle. A very stable union position.
Granny also was deeply religious and had faith in the future. She had big dreams for her children and her family. While she grew up in a state and in a time that only allowed her to complete eighth grade, she encouraged and supported her children so that they could finish high school. She built up a collection of books that she herself could not read, confident that her children would benefit from them.
Could she have guessed that her grandchildren would finish college? Maybe. I think she certainly saw enough that she could have hoped for it, but for most of her life, it likely seemed like an impossible idea. I doubt very much she would have thought that one of her grandsons would become a university president, or that he would treasure that book collection as I do.
My grandmother was an amazing and resilient woman. Her story gives me hope and inspiration today, as we face challenges with a pandemic, continued racism, political acrimony, devastating fires, personal accountability, and more.
I have faith in our future because, fortunately, my Granny’s story is not unique. There are thousands like hers, and many thousands of others with important similarities — even here in Humboldt County. People all across this country are able to look to their families to find resilient, powerful, hopeful examples. We are descendants of people who, through force of will and determination, created better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.
I consider it an important honor to serve as an educator during these times. In helping our students pursue their dreams, we are mentoring them to build resilience to meet the challenges ahead. Our current generation of students must be ready to face unexpected and evolving challenges, and I predict they will, and that one day they will be regarded as among the most important American generations ever.
For now, today’s students are a generation that is struggling with the scope of the challenges ahead. This has been documented in part by HSU environmental studies professor Sarah Ray, who published a book with UC Press this year titled “A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet.”
Dr. Ray explains some of the key points in a recent column posted on Zocalo, where she writes about students being deeply concerned about climate issues and social justice. In recent years, she writes, they are also often traumatized by the prospect of climate change and how they expect themselves and their communities to be directly affected. They feel an urgency about this and many despair of being able to do anything about it.
“Young people like our students are committed to making our world a better place,” Dr. Ray writes. “It’s my job, I’ve begun to think, to make sure that people in this ‘climate generation’ don’t get swallowed up in an ocean of despair along the way.”
She concludes: “The trauma of being young in this historical moment will shape this generation in many ways. The rest of us have a lot to learn from them. And we would do well to help them see that their grief and despair are the other side of love and connection, and help them to channel that toward effective action. For their sake and that of the planet, we need them to feel empowered to shape and desire their future. They have superpowers unique to their generation. They are my antidote to despair.”
Dr. Ray and many other faculty members are combining their teaching with strategies for creating hope and resilience. They are inspiring critical thought and challenging students in an environment that is safe for learning and expression. And beyond the classroom, we are working to both support students better and to provide them with experiences that broaden their vision and expand their sense of what is possible well beyond HSU.
Like my Granny, we remain hopeful. We are motivated by a genuine belief that these graduates will help create a better world, better science, stronger engagement in families and in schools, and critical thought in shaping policy. We know that, right now, they need our coaching, mentorship, and support.
Be well.
Dr. Tom Jackson is the president of Humboldt State University.