Beyond The Lines

Ethan shares his journey of addiction beginning at the age of 12 years old when a family member introduced him to marijuana. That led to a series of experimenting with many other forms of drugs to include pain killers and heroin. At one point in Ethan's journey, he was homeless and staying in a retail store's parking lot until he made the choice to get his life together and get clean. Ethan is on his way to law school and is excited about how he can keep telling his story to help other people in the future.  

Being a first-generation college student has its challenges. Zechariah had to overcome financial difficulty and find his path through college and to find his way. Not only is Zechariah now thriving in college, but he has also started a student organization for first-generation students just like him. Hear more about Zechariah’s story of resiliency in today’s episode.

At a young age, Mackenzie was diagnosed with an eating disorder. This later affected her high school as she spent time in an in-patient treatment facility learning how to love herself again. She shares about her experiences in treatment and post-treatment and how she managed to not just get through college but thrive. She is an advocate for beating the stigma that society puts around eating disorders. National Eating Disorder Awareness Week is February 24th - March 1st so we wanted to shed light on this topic that is not commonly talked about on college campuses. 

"Life has always been a bumpy roller-coaster, it was tough at the bottom but I always had fun at the top. I lived, I cried and I learned to love and accept myself. I am unapologetically queer, and I am here. 

"College was kind of wild for me. I failed classes, I almost dropped out of school, I abused drugs, I was drugged, I had a stalker, I was arrested and I experienced sexual violence." 

Join Jahaad Carter as he talks about his coming out story as a queer male in today's society. Jahad struggles to find himself but after a roller-coaster adventure of life, he's strong, resilient and ready to empower the ECU community! 

Sharing your story is the epitome of being resilient and real. Rachel speaks out on how she dealt with many issues. She abused drugs, she was drugged, she had a stalker, was arrested and experienced sexual violence throughout her early college experience. Rachel knew she needed help but didn't know exactly how or where to get it. Follow Rachel's journey of how she overcame many obstacles and has became a successful student, graduate assistant and person. 

This show will talk about very sensitive topics. Students will share their stories about resiliency. As an East Carolina University student, if you or a loved one is in crisis, please call the ECU Counseling Center at 252-328-6661. If you are concerned about an individual, we encourage you to contact ECU Cares at 252-737-5555 or ecucares.ecu.edu.