Building Trust is like building a house of cards.

It takes time, patience, commitment, and lots of belief in subtle but choice placements along the way.

Trust is an integral part of any relationship and its existence between adults can be elusive enough, let alone the fragile nature of the beast between adolescents and adults.   

The key to building trust is in offering up the right material to build with. This comes in presenting ourselves to one another in a manner that is first and foremost predictable. And once people begin to interact with a level of predictability, or constancy, members of a community start to trust what lies ahead.  

We are all being asked to present with some pretty “new normal” consistency right now as we band together in hopes that we can trust that our efforts will make the difference necessary to overcome challenging times.  

Working with our students at Oliverian can often feel like we’re working with a mixed deck.  It is elusive and often takes a different approach and alternative design. And the protection of this elusive majesty takes more than a person. It takes a community, committed to the idea that we are building something amazing.  A house called Trust.

Greg Vogel

Executive Director of Program and Culture