Launched in January 2016, the It’s Not What You Think storytelling series is part of a multi-pronged Middlebury College initiative to help foster resilience that includes spaces for reflection, increased access to counseling, workshops, and storytelling.

The podcast series, which is sponsored by the offices of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Vice President for Student Affairs, explores the unexpected twists and turns that life takes—emphasizing that our lives rarely (if ever) progress as a linear series of met goals. It’s Not What You Think brings together members of the college community around stories of the unanticipated ways that life unfolds, including failures, defeats, tragedies, and radical life changes.