The College of
New Jersey
Hogwarts Houses Hearten Peer Educators
June 2011
The Peer Institute is:
 “A wicked awesome experience!”
 “Inspiring!”
 “Bond-forming!”
 “Fun, engaging, and
interactive!”
Peer Pictures!
2
Peer
Performances
Propel Peer
Institute
2
Wizard
Tournament
2
Matt Bellace
Motivates
Through
Laughter
3
Special Thanks
3
This year, the Peer Institute
was hosted at The College of
New Jersey, supported by The
College of New Jersey’s Alcohol & Drug Education Program (ADEP), and was sponsored by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. Over 150 students, advisors, and presenters gathered together from sixteen
different schools, including
schools from New Jersey,
New York and Pennsylvania. After arriving to the
Peer Institute, students were
sorted into one of the four
different Harry Potter houses
and competed over the threeday conference, earning points
for a chance to win the House
Cup. With the largest Peer
Institute in over a decade, students offered helpful, steady
hands, supported and encour-
aged one another, and bonded
with their fellow peer educators! Prefect badges were
awarded throughout the conference for exemplary individual actions as houses earned
overall points for team spirit
and overall engagement. A
number of schools shared programs that they currently use
on their campuses while fostering dialogue about the different
Bacchus Gamma peer education modules. As in previous
years, peer educators were exposed to a number of different
trainings and presentations
throughout the three-day
event, including topics about
response and referral skills,
caring and helping within
limits, using social media to
market programs on campuses, developing inclusive peer
education programs, programming and presentation
skills, as well as alcohol and
drug prevention. The conference concluded on May
26th, with an engaging and
interactive keynote speaker,
Matt Bellace, PhD, and gave
the college students a
chance to utilize their new
skills by presenting to local
high school students about
various health topics. We
hope all attendees enjoyed
this years’ Peer Institute and
look forward to working with
you again next year!
Engorgio: Peer Institute Expands
Congratulations 4
This year’s Peer Institute
brought in record numbers of
students and advisors learning
about what it takes to become
peer educators. While schools
from all over New Jersey returned, the Peer Institute expanded to bring in colleges
from the whole tri-state area.
The returning conference attendees from The College of
New Jersey, Rutgers University,
William Paterson, Fairleigh
Dickinson University, New
Jersey City University, Drew
University, Rider University,
Rowan University, and Caldwell College warmly welcomed
the new advisors, and students
from the New York’s College
of New Rochelle, New Jersey’s
Raritan Valley Community Col-
lege, Ramapo College, and
Centenary College, and the
Penn State Pennsylvania college
of Technology. Returning and
new schools collaborated about
program ideas, what to bring
back to their campuses, and
made new connections and
networks across state lines!
Peer Pictures
“Never doubt that a
small group of
thoughtful, committed
citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it
is the only thing that
ever has.” -
Margaret Mead
Peer Performances Propel Peer Institute
This year’s Peer Institute
relied heavily on student
presentations and performances to cover Bacchus
Gamma material and show
attendees what kinds of
programs are taking place
across college campuses.
New Jersey City University’s
PEPPERS introduced the
PEP Zone, covering healthy
relationships and the dan-
gers of reckless driving.
Rutgers University’s
SHADES Theater addressed cultural competency while the Rutgers ADAwGS broke down the
party. Drew University’s
DV8 taught us about response and referral skills
and Berkeley’s B.A.PALs
improved our listening and
communication skills. Ro-
wan University covered
programming and presentation skills while William
Paterson danced us towards taking care of ourselves! The student presentations added flair and
helped make the Peer Institute such a success.
Great job to all the peer
groups who presented!
Wizard Tournament
This year’s Peer Institute
Talent show was hosted by
advisor Darren Jones from
Fairleigh Dickinson University. Jennifer MullanGonzalez, Damian Elias,
and dance-off champion
Charles Lamar Yarbrough
served as judges while Dar-
Peer Institute 2011
ren Scott rendered his services as the D.J. throughout the event. Performances included singing,
dancing, poetry reading,
and a TV montage including a memorable Charmin
commercial. We want to
thank everyone who par-
ticipated in this year’s talent show and of course to
the host and DJ for keeping it under two hours for
the first time in Peer Institute history! We look forward to seeing what’s in
store next year at the Peer
Institute talent show!
Matt Bellace Motivates Through Laughter
Matt Bellace returned to the 2011
Peer Institute for another motivational and moving presentation.
Both high school students and
college leaders congregated for
Bellace’s performance. Bellace
spoke about his experiences as a
peer educator at Bucknell University, including his involvement in
CALVIN & HOBBES, a peer
leadership group focused on having fun college experiences without the need for alcohol and drug
use. His presentation was extremely interactive and kept the
audience engaged throughout its
entirety. Bellace kept his message
personal by sharing his life choices and experiences bringing us
through his childhood, college
experiences, and life now as a
father. Matt Bellace incorporated
comedy into his discussion on
pressing issues and gave life-long
inspirational advice about what it
means to be a peer educator, how
to offer support for friends and
family, and have fun while doing
it! After Matt’s presentation, students were given a copy of his
book, A Better High: A Humorous
Look at Getting High Naturally,
Everyday,
and had
the opportunity to
meet Matt
Bellace.
To learn
more
about
Matt,
Please visit
his website
at http://www.mattbellace.com.
Drexel University
DV8, Christina Liparini, Audra
Tonero, Damian Elias &
Deshawn Cook - Drew University
Francesca Maresca, PhD & Liz
Amaya-Fernandez, MPH Rutgers University
Megan Hueter, Digital Strategist,
Catalyst Public Relations, NYC
Ann DeGennaro, MA Montgomery High School
Alyson Pompeo, Theresa
Torsiello & Berkeley B.A. PAL
Peer Educators - Berkeley College
PEPPERS, Jennifer MullanGonzalez & KristiAnn Fitzpatrick
- New Jersey City University
ADAwGS - Rutgers University
StudentCare & Allie Pearce Rowan University
Peer Health Advocates &
Marianne Edmond - William
Paterson University
Raritan Valley Community
College & Amee Smolinsky
Rider University & Margarita
Leahy
Caldwell College & Sister
Deborah Lynch
Fairleigh Dickinson University &
Darren Jones
Centenary College & Joseph
Olivo
The College of New Rochelle &
Adrienne Wald
Ramapo College & Venus
Hewing
Keystone College & Tanya
Morgan
Pennsylvania College of
Technology & Kristi Hammaker
The College of New Jersey &
Michelle Gervasi, Hue-Sun Ahn,
& Jackie Deitch-Stackhouse
Joe Hadge, MA, SAC, CPS - The
College of New Jersey
Matt Bellace - Keynote Speaker
D.J. Darren Scott
Special Thanks!!
The Peer Institute takes
preparation, coordination, and a
tremendous amount of
dedication on the part of
presenters, students, advisors,
and planners. We would like to
thank each and every participant
who attended this year’s Peer
Institute, and hope to see you
back next year.
We would also like to specially
recognize Peer Institute
Coordinators and key players
who helped plan and run the
event, including Joe Hadge,
Michelle Gervasi, Hye-Jin
Gehring, Hillary Klimowicz,
Bobby Melloy, Kevin Seavers,
Jackie Deitch-Stackhouse, Kaitlyn
Nichols-O’Neill, and Allison
Montgomery.
Finally, we’d like to give a big
thanks to all students and
advisors who attended the Peer
Institute:
SHADES Theater - Rutgers
University
Robert Chapman, PhD, MS Ed -
Alcohol and Drug Education Program
2000 Pennington Road
Ewing, New Jersey 08628
Phone: 609-771-2571
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.adep.pages.tcnj
www.peereducation.pages.tcnj.edu
Congrats to this year’s P.I. Graduates!
Congratulations to the students of:
Rowan University
Berkeley College
New Jersey City University
Rider University
The College of New Jersey
Rutgers University
Drew University
William Paterson University
Farleigh Dickinson University
Caldwell College
Rowan University
Centenary College
Ramapo College
Raritan Valley Community College
Keystone College
Pennsylvania College of Technology
The College of New Rochelle
Peer Institute 2011