Falcon Student-Athletes Take Part In Substance Abuse Education Conference

San Diego, Calif. - Over the weekend of Jan. 26-28, four BGSU student-athletes attended the APPLE Training Institute in San Diego, Calif. learning about substance abuse education and prevention.

The APPLE Training Institute is hosted annually by the University of Virginia in conjunction with the Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

The student-athletes in attendance included distance runner and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President Kohl Taberner, women's volleyball outside hitter and SAAC Vice President Macie Linne, women's soccer goalkeeper and SAAC representative, Kathleen Duwve and men's soccer goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia. They were also supported by football academic coordinator Marissa Tashenberg, and Olivia Krupp, graduate assistant for BGSU Wellness Connection.

These student-athletes were heavily impacted by this weekend trip and look to add elements of substance abuse education to the BGSU campus as well.

"The APPLE conference offered me a unique experience on drugs and alcohol prevention," Taberner said. "It wasn't your prototypical 'alcohol is bad' conference, but rather a place where they said, 'let me tell you how to drink responsibly'. That was extremely refreshing as a college student and it gave me a real incentive to take this information back to BG and put it into practice."

Thirty-six schools from across the country were represented at the San Diego gathering. Taberner took note of the other institutions represented.

"It was also great to meet with other schools and see where they stood," Taberner said. "Not only on drugs and alcohol, but with SAAC, involvement, traditions, and other challenges facing our universities."

The three-day event included presentations from prominent researchers and a variety of speakers who addressed current issues in the climate of college athletics. The Falcons in attendance were able to take valuable lessons away from the speakers who addressed current issues in the climate of college athletics.

"I found the APPLE training institute to be very insightful and enjoyable," Duwve said. "It was extremely effective in educating and inspiring student-athletes on the importance of substance abuse prevention. I am looking forward to taking what we learned and implementing it on our campus!"

The event had a positive resonation on Mwembia as well.

"That was a really beneficial conference because it made me aware of what alcohol can do to student-athletes and how it can impact our performances," he said. "As a leader we can impact our University to change student-athletes' behaviors via organizations that we can set up, such as student-athlete mentor program."

The Falcon APPLE team is looking forward to developing and promoting an educational program to inform fellow Falcons about substance abuse issues. To conclude the training institute, the APPLE team developed an action to engage their fellow athletes and students across campus in substance abuse prevention in upcoming semesters.

For more information on the APPLE Training Institute, visit: https://apple.studenthealth.virginia.edu/

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