The purpose of this paper is to present an argument for understanding the factors that support or constrain the development of Chicana/o students' academic identities and consequently, their academic resiliency in high school. The article draws on a larger study investigating ways that schooling structures and teacher mind-sets can sustain students' ability to complete high school requirements. A subset of findings from a five-year ethnographic study in a high school in Colorado serves as the basis for a conceptual framework that honors what Chicana/o students identify as critical to their ability to succeed. Using observational data, interviews and an ethnographic perspective the article examines participating adolescents' understandings of key elements that fostered their academic resilience. These key elements are respeto (respect), confianza (mutual trust), consejos (verbal teachings) and buen ejemplos [exemplary models). Findings suggest that teachers who practice a humanizing pedagogy are instrumental in fostering healthy educational orientations among Chicana/o adolescents, which in turn results in their academic resiliency against all odds.