Stress impedes a students' ability to learn. This includes learning concepts in the academic realm, but also socially, emotionally, and culturally as well. This study took place in a K-12 school in rural North Dakota with a student population of under 200 children. The focus of this research was to find out more about stress and emotional recognition in middle school students by building resilience and self-awareness. The guiding question was: In what ways will a self-management training session impact stress levels in a group of 8th grade students? The assumption of this study was that by focusing on the CASEL core competencies of self-management and self-awareness, students would learn coping skills, how to recognize stress triggers, and how to manage their emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. Major themes within the literature were social emotional learning, adolescence, Social Cognitive Theory, stress, and SEL programs. A group of eight students participated in a CharacterStrong© focus group for 30 minutes, twice weekly in a five-week time span. Participants completed a Google forum pre/post-survey focusing on emotions, coping skills, current stress level and stress triggers. Additional data was collected during Socratic seminar sessions and exit interviews. Findings reveal participant increase in self-awareness, reported use of coping strategies and a reduction in daily stress levels following the study. Limitations and future research are discussed.