{"id":48978,"date":"2023-04-10T14:27:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T14:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/?p=48978"},"modified":"2024-06-25T20:38:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T20:38:25","slug":"resiliency-in-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/2023\/04\/10\/resiliency-in-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Resiliency in Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>Shelby Waldon \u201925 decided to attend Augsburg, in large part, due to the StepUP\u00ae Program. \u201cI was deciding between Augsburg and St. Cloud, but I liked that Augsburg was closer to home and it\u2019s a smaller school,\u201d she said. Having grown up just outside of the cities, Shelby was excited to spend more time in the Twin Cities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>StepUP Program<\/span><\/a> supports students in recovery who are pursuing their undergraduate and graduate degrees. This hallmark program began 25 years ago at Augsburg and is one of the nation\u2019s first and premiere collegiate recovery-based programs in the United States. This year, there are 42 students who are currently enrolled in the program with 29 living on campus in a substance-free residence hall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shelby is a sophomore pursuing a degree in social work. \u201cI\u2019m also looking into psychology,\u201d she shared. \u201cI\u2019d like to work with younger kids who are struggling with substance abuse issues, so getting my LADC [Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor] is a goal of mine and I can really do that with either major.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to staying focused on schoolwork and sobriety, StepUP has been a big help to Shelby. \u201cBeing in StepUP has made it easier to focus on school because I don’t have to worry about coming home and dealing with being around substances. I know that if I have a hard day in class, I can come back and be surrounded by other sober people,\u201d Shelby said, who has developed close friendships with other StepUP students. \u201cWe like to just hang out in our communal living room and talk or go out to eat together, we also have a game night each week which is fun!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the academic and community support, Shelby shared other helpful resources she has received and service opportunities she has had. \u201cI remember going around to different high schools and talking to students about what it\u2019s like being a young person in recovery,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThese opportunities have been really helpful for me and pushed me outside of my comfort zone.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, Shelby is one of four recipients of the Doran Family Scholarship. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful for this scholarship,\u201d Shelby said. \u201cI was worried about how I was going to pay for last semester and this scholarship made my education possible. Not having to stress about tuition has been so helpful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Philanthropic efforts are critical to the success of StepUP. In fact, during Augsburg\u2019s historical <\/span>Great Returns: We\u2019re All In<\/span><\/i> campaign, <\/span>more than $10 million has been raised toward StepUP’s endowment<\/span>. In May, StepUP will be celebrating the program\u2019s 25-year anniversary during its gala on May 13 at the Radisson Blu-Mall of America. This event aims to recognize the accomplishments of the students, staff, and alumni of the program and secure support for the future. \u201cI went to the 2022 StepUP Gala for the first time last year, and it was a really beautiful experience,\u201d Shelby reflected. \u201cIt\u2019s really nice that donors are able to see what comes out of their donations. They are supporting us in more ways than they know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Purchase tickets for the StepUP Gala by April 14. To learn more about the StepUP program, visit our <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shelby Waldon \u201925 decided to attend Augsburg, in large part, due to the StepUP\u00ae Program. \u201cI was deciding between Augsburg and St. Cloud, but I liked that Augsburg was closer to home and it\u2019s a smaller school,\u201d she said. Having grown up just outside of the cities, Shelby was excited to spend more time in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":470,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,214,210],"tags":[148,50,159,90,161],"class_list":["post-48978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-recognition","category-great-returns-campaign","category-stepup-program","tag-augsburg-university","tag-endowed-scholarship","tag-great-returns","tag-stepup","tag-stepup-gala"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48978"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49244,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48978\/revisions\/49244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}