What it means to be unstoppable

This month, we’ll welcome Anthony Robles to campus for the Graduate College Distinguished Lecture on “Being Unstoppable.” Born with only one leg, Robles defied all expectations and became a three-time NCAA wrestling champion. His story inspired a major motion picture, “Unstoppable” starring Jennifer Lopez and Jharrel Jerome. It only makes sense that this month’s bold word is “unstoppable.”

In Anthony’s story, “unstoppable” means having incredibly strong determination to keep moving toward the goal despite challenges, and setbacks.

Think for a moment about where you might be feeling stuck. Maybe it’s a class that feels impossible, a research idea that’s not coming together, or a next step in your career that feels uncertain. What would it take to be unstoppable in any of those situations — to adapt, keep learning, and move forward despite the challenge?

If you’re feeling this way, you’re in good company, for everyone experiences this. Graduate students often don’t see their faculty as former graduate students who struggled — yet each of them faced moments that tested their resolve. Here are a few stories from ASU faculty:

“I knew that I was exploring an area that was not well-covered, at least from the interdisciplinary perspective I brought to the research. Being a professor was a calling, not just a job, and that helped me keep my focus and get through my program. I also felt that I had something to prove — having failed part of my qualifying exam, I rewrote those questions and never looked back.”

“As an undergraduate, I was told four different times by faculty that I should not pursue a PhD. Each time, I thought about what they said and even considered what might motivate their perspective — and chose not to pursue a PhD. Instead, I spent 4 years working in research before starting my doctorate and those years could be seen as a setback, but I see them as the experience that gave me confidence, clarity, and drive. In the end, that period of reflection and persistence is what made me unstoppable in not only starting, but ultimately finishing, my PhD.”

“My greatest drivers were a deep passion for research, especially understanding why people behave the way they do, and an unshakable determination to prove the doubters (real or imagined) wrong. Whenever I encountered an obstacle or sensed someone questioning my abilities, it only fueled my resolve to push harder and demonstrate that I deserved to be in graduate school.”
These stories remind us that being unstoppable is about conviction rooted in self-confidence. It’s about believing your goals align with who you are and that setbacks don’t define you. When you trust your path (or trust that it’s okay to change it), challenges become opportunities to grow rather than barriers to success.

Last month’s bold word, empathy, helps illuminate this idea. Empathy and unstoppable go hand in hand. Empathy allows us to understand the struggles of others (and ourselves) while an unstoppable mindset gives us the courage to persist. When we combine unstoppable determination with empathy for ourselves and others, we build the foundation for a tomorrow full of resilience, progress, and possibility.

As you face your own challenges, remember, everybody struggles with something, being unstoppable is about believing in yourself.