Engaging a Community of Hope: Empowering Collegiate Leaders for Student Recovery

On average, one in four adults aged eighteen to twenty-five claim abuse of various substances commonly referred to as "addiction." This harrowing statistic is one that has become even more drastic in the years following the coronavirus pandemic, with global anxiety and lockdowns only leading to more substance abuse. On top of this, the college experience, and young adulthood in general, present stressors and other various reasons for substance use. The good news is that there are steps that can be taken that can help limit widespread substance abuse on the global scale. Collegiate Recovery Programs are a great step towards combating the current usage of substances in college students and other young adults. If you are someone who is present in the lives of college students, or other young adults, reading this book will give you the resources necessary to face the ongoing "pandemic" of substance abuse.

Kelsey L. Austin-Wright is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a passion for collegiate recovery. She served as a research assistant and peer educator for Kennesaw State University's Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery while pursuing her bachelor's degree in psychology. She graduated from Texas Tech University's master's program in Couple, Marriage, and Family Therapy. She then went on to direct a collegiate recovery program and now is a full-time therapist in private practice.


Nathan R. Patzke is a former Graduate Research Assistant at Baylor University's Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center. Although he now works as a stockbroker, his passion for, and personal history with, recovery is central to his life and work, along with striving for an all-inclusive, socially conscious livelihood. Serving throughout multiple churches and nonprofits, Patzke has observed many lives, taking solace in their uniqueness. All are welcome in his life, with no exception.