Students chosen for the prestigious role are:
- Nathan Olszewski, Marshall University
- James Nichols, BridgeValley Community and Technical College
- Urian “Benny” Benicker, Mountwest Community and Technical College.
The Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy (CRLA) is an academic year-long fellowship program for students who are passionate about the intersection of collegiate recovery, leadership, and advocacy.
The three will will implement a collegiate recovery-focused impact project on each of their campuses, receive advocacy training and be part of a supportive cohort of peers from around the country. They will also attend two all-expense paid trips to the SAFE Project Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy Summit in Washington, D.C., later this month and the SAFE Project Leadership Retreat in June 2023.
In addition to the three students above, West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network Program Coordinator Susie Mullens was invited to attend the Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy Summit in Washington, D.C., as a group mentor. Joining Mullens as a group leader is Rebecca Tomblin, who was a student participant last year and is a Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy graduate.
All of the students and mentors/leaders invited to participate are part of the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network, an innovative partnership, offering peer recovery support services on nine higher education campuses.
For more information about the SAFE Project and the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network, visit https://www.safeproject.us/campuses/leadership-academy/ and https://www.wvcollegiaterecovery.com.