Meet Taylor! Taylor is the Collegiate Recovery Specialist with OSU’s Collegiate Recovery Program (CRC). Founded in 2013, the CRC is a comprehensive program that supports students who are in or seeking recovery from substance use. While the CRC does not provide direct substance use treatment, it does offer a spectrum of support. This support ranges from sober social gatherings such as retreats and weekly support groups, to a more intensive option like living at Dixon Lodge, a sober on-campus house for students in recovery. If a student does require a higher level of care, the CRC can connect them to treatment organizations in the area that they’ve partnered with.

We sat down with Taylor to chat about the unique qualities of the CRC, the stigma of addiction, and his unusual pets.

 

Can you explain a little bit about the process of someone connecting with the CRC?

Taylor: The CRC is multifaceted in support. The first thing I do is help a student identify where they’re at in their recovery process, and then tailor supports specifically to them. That may be treatment, it may be support groups, or it may just be connection. Then with that student I’ll develop a recovery plan and help them add in those supports, whether we provide them directly or whether they come from an outside treatment organization. Ultimately, the goal is connecting the student to whatever resource they need. I think that’s the starting point for everything: where are they at on this journey?

 

One of the values of the CRC is “The family that you choose.” Can you elaborate on what this means?

Taylor: Within this community—especially with the students that live here, because they see each other every day—they actually do become family. I’ve had multiple residents tell me that this is the first safe place they’ve ever lived. The residents become invested in this community and they don’t want to leave. My vision for this program has always been for it to be home for people.

Why are you passionate about working with students in recovery?

Taylor: I have been in recovery for 12 years. Because of my substance use disorder, I didn’t believe I was capable of what other people were capable of: people who didn’t suffer from substance use disorders, who didn’t suffer from mental health disorders, who seemingly went through high school, graduated, and seamlessly transitioned to college. That never seemed like a possibility for me. But when I was finally able to attain recovery for myself, one of the first things I realized was that through recovery I can do what anybody else can do. I can go back to school; I can get a master’s degree; and I can be a functioning, stable person in our society. When I work with students, it’s really like looking back on a younger version of myself. It’s like being able to say to the young Taylor, “Hey, you can do this.” I think that is the essence of why I chose to go into this field—because I am given the ability to speak into peoples’ lives when maybe they don’t have anyone else to speak into it. To be an example of, “Hey, this is all possible. This is all achievable.”

At the end of the day, whether or not we struggle with substance use or mental health, the human experience is a desire to feel connection. I think humans will do almost anything to feel that sense of belonging—whether it’s destructive or not—because feeling outcasted is probably one of the most socially painful things we can feel. Humans just want to know that other people understand and accept them. I think for a lot of people, that’s where substance use starts. Substances are also used to mask a pain.

Taylor: I think one of the most critical components of addiction recovery is connection. Connection to people that are walking the path that you are walking. When I came into recovery I was able to walk into a group of people and say, “I’m scared, I’m lonely, I don’t know what I’m doing, and I don’t know where I’m going.” And they said, “I feel the same way. Let’s figure it out together.”

What a huge sigh of relief to feel that.

Taylor: Yes. I had been hiding fear and sadness from everyone my whole life, because I didn’t know how to deal with it in a healthy way. The people that were broken like me were the people that showed me how to deal with it.

What would be your one piece of advice to students in recovery?

Taylor: Consistency. My belief is that anyone that keeps trying and keeps seeking, regardless of mistakes, will eventually land on the path that works for them.

There is still a lot of stigma surrounding addiction in our society today. What do you want people who have a negative viewpoint on addiction to know?

Taylor: With addiction comes a lot of pain. I don’t think that anybody ever wakes up and says, “I’m going to become addicted to drugs.” Addiction comes from severe trauma and unhealthy coping mechanisms. I think the way we’re going to treat it more effectively is through compassion and understanding.

The question isn’t, “Why are you addicted?” The question is, “What’s causing you pain? What’s underlying your need to use?” At the end of the day, we all just want to feel good. It’s never as simple as, “Just stop using.

Taylor: I heard a quote years ago that said, “People do better when they know better.” People just want to be content and happy on a human level, and if the only way a person knows how to attain that is through a substance, then that’s what they’re going to use. But if they knew a better way, they’d probably treat it differently. What is the underlying struggle? When we figure that out, we can help that person move forward.

What are your favorite moments while working with the recovering student population?

Taylor: I get to experience that moment every day. Every day students pass by my office laughing together, going out to eat together, attending recovery meetings together, and heading to study together. Every day I get to see people’s lives changed. I don’t think that there’s anything more gratifying.

Now a little bit about you: what do you like to do outside of work for fun?

Taylor: I’ve always loved to travel. I’m originally from Birmingham, Alabama, but early in my recovery a friend and I took a trip to Yosemite National Park in California. It was the first time I’d ever been on the West Coast. It was amazing to be able to experience one of the most beautiful places in the world while sober.

What’s the last book you read?

Taylor: Forrest Gump. In the book, he goes to space and he crash lands on a cannibalistic island, which he doesn’t do in the movie. The book is so much better.

What’s your favorite food?

Taylor: My mom’s homemade biscuits and gravy.

Any fun fact people might be surprised to learn about you?

Taylor: I have turtles as pets: Scooter and…Turtle.

 

For more information about the CRC, visit https://studenthealth.oregonstate.edu/crc.