How community can help rebuild your life | Bridgett Strickler | TEDxYorkville Women

Quick Overview

Bridgett Strickler advocates that community, built through shared struggle and connection, is the essential factor for success and healing, especially for adult learners and those in recovery, proving that vulnerability and mutual support multiply potential far beyond what individual effort can achieve.

Key Points: Strickler's personal recovery journey began after a traumatic event on a January day involving a trip to Walgreens and a friend's suicide, highlighting the initial reliance on self-medication (00:07-00:39). Her first AA meeting at age 48, attended while she was a teacher, was not what she expected, yet the shared stories of others provided unexpected inspiration (01:33-02:03). Strickler emphasizes that community is not something earned via resume or degree, but something built through shared struggle and connection (02:41-03:01). Research shows that students in instructional communities or with peer mentors earn better grades and feel more supported (03:37-04:18). The presenter founded 'Adult Learner Space' to create communities that help people like her—those returning to school later in life—rewrite their stories (04:26-05:05). A key takeaway is that community doesn't fix you, but it holds you, allowing you to be messy and unfiltered, which is crucial for growth (05:56-06:10).

Context: Bridgett Strickler, identified as a National Non-Profit Leader for Adult Learner Space, shares a deeply personal story about overcoming addiction and trauma, focusing on the transformative power of community support. She recounts a critical moment involving a friend's suicide and her own subsequent struggles with self-medication, leading her to realize the necessity of shared experience over isolated effort for healing and success, particularly in the context of adult education.

Detailed Analysis

The talk by Bridgett Strickler focuses on the critical role of community in personal recovery and success, contrasting it with the isolating nature of self-medication. Strickler begins by recounting a difficult January morning where she dealt with a hangover by buying toothpaste and subsequently learned of her friend Steve’s suicide, leading her to numb her own pain (00:07-00:39). She describes the shock and silence that followed this event, realizing she was stuck between two worlds and numbing her grief (00:43-01:51). Her turning point came at her first AA meeting, where the shared stories of recovery inspired her, leading her to pursue her MBA at age 48 despite feeling like an outsider among younger students and professionals (01:33-02:53). Strickler asserts that community is not a resume line but a vital factor for success, citing research from the Journal of Learning and Education and Development (2024) showing that students in instructional communities or with peer mentors achieve better grades and feel more supported (03:37-04:18). She founded 'Adult Learner Space' to build these supportive environments for people who choose to go back to school later in life (04:26-05:05). The core message is that community doesn't fix an individual, but it holds them in their messy, unfiltered state, allowing for genuine healing and rewriting one's story (05:56-06:10, 07:32-07:33). Strickler concludes by emphasizing that when people feel connected, they stick with their goals, whether it’s recovering from addiction or pursuing education later in life.