The message from three decades of research on resilience underscores central themes of the positive psychology movement, namely growth, healthy development and successful adaptation despite risk and adversity. This paper presents the initial findings of a study which seeks to increase the participation in tertiary education amongst young people coming from an inner harbor, low socio-economic region in Malta. It describes the main initiatives undertaken with a group of young people with high educational potential, including peer mentoring, family and community support, and school-based support. Through interviews with the young people as well as their parents and teachers, the paper presents the educational experience of the young people at the initial stage of the initiative, seeking to identify the key risk and protective factors in the young people’s education.