Some Lessons aren't Learned in a Classroom

By

Justin Ecung

There isn’t anything quite like college; in most cases, it’s a teenager’s first time away from home. They have the opportunity to make their own decisions without coming under the scrutiny of their parents: a time where they can experiment and discover who they really are.

            Roxanne Summers, a sophomore at Utah State University, enjoyed the freedom of college, but perhaps enjoyed it a little too much. The Virginia native drank heavily, greatly affecting her academic performance and her relationship with loved ones. Nevertheless, she was able to regain her focus and realized why she was in college.

            “I definitely got carried away with all of the partying,” said Summers. “My weekends would start Thursday night and would end Monday morning.”

            Consequently, Summers regularly missed classes, failed to study and rarely completed homework assignments. Her grades plummeted, eventually resulting in the young college student being placed on academic probation. Despite having a tutor, Summers still failed to successfully pass her classes.

            “I would never see her in our math class,” Bryan Williams, one of Summers’ classmates said. “It was frustrating because she would always ask me and other people in our class to help her do homework at the last minute. It wasn’t fair because we went to class and took notes everyday and she just didn’t.”

            Eventually, Summers’ drinking habits caught up with her. While living on campus in the Living and Learning Center, she was caught with alcohol on three separate occasions. Fortunately for Summers, no legal actions were ever taken despite the fact she was underage. Instead it was recommended that she receive counseling to help her realize the dangers of alcohol, and how greatly it affected her life.

            “Summers needed help, and just handing her over to local police wouldn’t suffice. We had to get her involved in some type of counseling program to increase her alcohol awareness. Simply having her pay fines and tickets was not enough,” Summers’ residence advisor said.

            Summers’ counselor, Donald Wright, helped her realize the many potential dangers that heavy drinking posed. The two met twice a week to help Summers overcome her drinking problem.

            “[Summers] is a really smart girl who just lost sight of the real reason she was here going to school: to earn a college degree. She fell into the trap of going out and partying which eventually led to her meeting with me to help her get pass these issues that were affecting her life,” Wright said.

            Summers took her counselor’s advice and began making attempts to stay away from drinking and partying. She began focusing more on her studies and distancing herself from her friends. Accordingly, her grades improved.

            “The first thing I had to do was stop hanging out with my old friends because I knew that it would be more difficult for me to say no to going out. I decided to distance myself and put all my energy into studying: the busier I was the less I thought about what I was missing out on. I began working more closely with my teachers and started going to church,” Summers said.

            Church became a safe haven for Summers. It was a place where she could get away from everything and reflect on the type of girl she was and the young woman she hoped to become. She confided in the priest at her local church, and soon discovered her appreciation for volunteering and helping others.

            “[Summers] became one of our most common volunteers,” Father Pedro Arroyo said. “She enjoyed working with children, and the kids enjoyed spending time with her. I knew about her problems with alcohol in the past, but she was on the track to recovery and it was my responsibility to help.”

            It’s been 11 months since Summers last alcohol offense. She has made the decision to be completely sober and has not had a drink since. Through the support of her family and those close to her, she was able to improve academically and is currently on the honor roll at USU. Although, Summers path to recovery has been difficult, it has been worth it.

            “Looking back on things I never really get the whole appeal of drinking. You go out, get drunk and spend the next day in bed regretting it. I still go out to parties, but you don’t have to drink to have fun. I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished this past year and look forward to see what else I can do,” Summers said.