A red ribbon for Red Ribbon Week
Two TUNE students win award for producing addiction awareness PSA
By Kyle Hobstetter on March 14, 2022
As a student tour guide for Towson University in Northeastern Maryland (TUNE), Kaitlynn Wieler ‘22 literally made it her job to meet as many new students as possible.
But on the last day of tours in the summer of 2021, the psychology major met Grace Diveley ‘23, the only psychology student in the tour group.
“I said, ‘You’re mine, and I’m going to show you around and give you the lowdown on the psychology department,’” Wieler laughs about their first meeting. “We started working the front desk together and are members of the Student Advisory Board at TUNE.
“We’re stuck together, and I’m very happy about that.”
Being stuck together has encouraged the two TUNE students to form an award-winning partnership: Wieler and Diveley recently placed second in the Red Ribbon Week’s video PSA contest.
The idea came when the two were emailed about participating in the competition from Alison Frey, the director of student services at TUNE. Their video focused on the statistics of students dealing with drug and alcohol addictions and how students could get help.
The two decided to work on the project because Diveley has had a passion for addiction awareness since high school, and, as the president of Student Against Destructive Decisions, she had already done projects for Red Ribbon Week.
“As soon as I saw the email, I was in [Frey’s] office, and I was like, ‘Tell me everything I need to know, so we can do this,’” Diveley says. “Addiction awareness has always been a passion of mine. I’m a transfer student, and I didn’t really have an outlet like this at my last school.
“So when I came to TUNE and found someone like Kait to work with, I took advantage of this opportunity.”
The video came together after the two watched previous winners. When viewing the videos, they didn’t like the fact the PSAs were stigmatizing addiction instead of showing support.
Wieler and Diveley wanted to demonstrate that it was okay to admit that you are struggling with addiction.
“We wanted our message to be that while people are going through this, they are still surviving and being able to prosper,” Wieler says. “We want people to know they can do this. That’s the whole point of our video—that you can overcome any hardships you’re faced with while dealing with addiction.”
Along with the award, the two received $3,000 to put on events that support resources for drug and alcohol addiction.
Both are working on a project called “A Day in the Life,” an interactive activity that presents different alcohol- and drug-related scenarios and asks participants to make decisions.
The pair also wants to start an awareness campaign called “Wake up to Addiction,” so students understand its many forms, how to seek help and what national and local resources are available.
Both are also hosting a podcast for students on topics such as mental health, stress relief, school news and more. And finally, they are putting together an end-of-year carnival to celebrate the successes of TUNE students and reiterate the resources that are available.
Wieler and Diveley say all this wouldn’t have happened without the support and encouragement of the faculty and staff at TUNE.
“Everyone in this building has really inspired us to take any idea we have and run with it,” Wieler says. “This doesn’t feel like work to me, it feels like fun. And even if just one person looks at our videos or podcast or gets help from our events, that’s what makes me want do this.”
“I’ve never felt so appreciated and supported by a group of professors and staff,” Diveley adds. “The staff here at TUNE goes above and beyond. Especially if they know you personally, because they want to see you succeed and achieve your goals.”