Spotlight On: Ahmed Hosni of the Collegiate Recovery Community
September is National Recovery Month, an opportunity to raise awareness of mental and substance use disorders and celebrate the accomplishments of people who are in recovery.
We sat down with Ahmed Hosni, program manager for the Student Life Student Wellness Center’s Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC), to learn more about Recovery Month and how the CRC creates the extraordinary student experience for Buckeyes in and seeking recovery.
In your own words, what is the Collegiate Recovery Community?
The Collegiate Recovery Community is a support service offered in the Student Wellness Center for those who identify as being in or seeking recovery from a substance use disorder. We do everything we can to support them so that they can have the extraordinary student experience while they are here at Ohio State.
Our hope is that all students in recovery can get the support they need to achieve their goal of becoming a Buckeye and graduating from the greatest university in the world.
What path brought you to the role you have today within the CRC?
I actually started as a student in a collegiate recovery program myself. At the time, before Ohio State’s CRC had opened, I had to go 1,500 miles away from my hometown of Warren, Ohio to find the support that I needed.
When the opportunity for me to come to Ohio State and work with a program like this for students like myself, I had to take it. Four years ago, I started off as a program coordinator for the CRC. I was fortunate to become the program manager a little over a year ago.
What inspires you to get up every day and come to work with a positive attitude?
For me, working at Ohio State is a dream come true. I’ve met some of the most amazing individuals you’ll ever meet in your life. Being a part of their support to reinvent themselves and recreate their lives on our campus is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
It’s easy to come to work when it doesn’t feel like you’re working, and you’re just living your passion on a day-to-day basis. I love being a Buckeye and I love being on our campus.
What does National Recovery Month mean to you?
This is an opportunity for people in or seeking recovery across the country to celebrate their process and not allow stigma to stop them from being open about one of the most important factors of their life.
Today, we hear so many sad stories that are caused by addiction. It’s important for those of us in recovery to tell our stories and talk about how we’re in recovery. It shows that addiction isn’t a life sentence. You can recover, and people do recover each and every day.
What advice to you have for students in and seeking recovery?
For the students out there in recovery or who might be seeking recovery, I’d say the most important thing is to not be ashamed of the fact you are seeking recovery. I love Recovery Month and the stories of redemption from all the people who are flourishing and exceeding any expectation that anyone ever had of them.
If you need help, ask for help. Reach out. There are people who want to support you to graduate and go on to be whatever it is that you want to be in life.
Learn more about the CRC at go.osu.edu/recovery.
