While many students struggle with the daily grind of balancing school work and extracurricular activities, others deal with a challenge that’s a bit more trying — overcoming addiction.

To address this issue, five University students recovering from addiction openly described their battles with substance abuse at the Michigan League yesterday in front of about 40 students and faculty members in a panel titled “Students in Recovery.”

The program was presented by the Collegiate Recovery Program in conjunction with the LSA Research Theme Semester. The program, associated with the University Health Service, was first founded by students dedicated to the cause of addiction recovery.

Mary Jo Desprez, UHS’s Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy and Prevention administrator, said the panel aimed to raise awareness among faculty, staff, students and community members about students recovering from addiction.

“I really thought the student voice on recovery was a really important part to have featured as part of the theme semester,” Desprez said.

Jennifer Cervi, a graduate student in the School of Social Work, Rory Crook, a graduate student in the School of Public Health, LSA freshman Jake Goldberg, LSA junior Piper Keyes and Amber Smith, a Rackham graduate student, all spoke on the panel.

Smith said the crucial factor that motivates her to overcome her struggles is her proximity to the Collegiate Recovery Program staff and their support.

“I really need to balance life off of other people, to know that I’m not alone,” Smith said.

Smith became sober in 2010 as she took part in her graduate program, at which she received support and help from acquaintances at the University.

Cervi, who discovered the Collegiate Recovery Program upon her acceptance to the University, has been a recovering methamphetamine addict since 2006.

Cervi said it was most important for her to focus on her recovery, as academic pressure occasionally made her forget that recovery was what had kept her in the University. She also noted that having a sense of community was crucial for her.

“I need a place where I can feel belong,” Cervi said.

Crook, who has been sober since February 2003, said it was important for him to be in a precise routine.

“If I get caught up with empty amounts of time in limbos, things could turn out for the worse,” he said.

During the panel, the students discussed several factors that they wished faculty and staff would be more aware of how they encourage substance abuse. Smith pointed out that most occasions to bond with staff in graduate programs were during happy hour in bars.

“I could not even go to bars because I was not in a state of mind to even be near alcohol,” Smith said. “I just wish that there were more events not associated with happy hour.”

Crook echoed Smith’s sentiment, explaining that these practices continue to exist at the graduate level.

“I feel like I have to work harder to make connections and network without drinking,” Crook said.

Goldberg was accepted to the University in the fall, but didn’t start his freshman year until the winter semester due to issues with substance abuse. He said he recently celebrated his sixth month of sobriety.

Goldberg said he he would like to be open about his recovery, but wished his professors and GSIs wouldn’t differentiate him from other students when he confessed his condition.

Keyes, who has been sober for seven months and is currently working in a neuroscience lab on drug addiction, agreed with Goldberg that it’s difficult at times to determine how peers or professors may perceive her if they knew about her past.

“In my lab, I work with amphetamine every day and have access to space where they store heroin and cocaine,” she said.