Summer 2026 Newsletter

I am pleased to be able to cordially introduce our new Quarterly Newsletter for the Augsburg University StepUP program!

My name is Elizabeth and I am a current StepUP student, resident and community relations manager in the StepUP office.

The purpose of our newsletter is to have a creative physical platform where students, staff and other external members of the StepUP community can document and share our experiences in one place.

Everything designed and curated in this newsletter was by StepUP students, and everything written was by our community. Thank you for reading!

The summer of 2026 for StepUP was a wild one. Some highlights of the last few months include our annual trip to the Boundary Waters in June, the Association of Recovery in Higher Education conference in Colorado, the Minnesota Conference for Young People in AA in July, and new student orientation in August.

As the days become shorter again and we wind down into fall semester, I dedicate this issue of our newsletter to the reflection and appreciation of the summer of 2026.

There is a certain level of unpredictability in all things. There is always going to be a fifty-fifty chance of a dichotomous outcome. The chance of a random chance occurring is so near at all times, the line between what is and what could have been so slender, that it seems almost unfathomable at times—intangible. So what does one do when an undesired and unforeseen outcome comes to fruition? What can one do? What would a group of seven alcoholics do?

As an alcoholic, I am told that my disease is a debilitating one—at most it tries to kill me, and at least it leaves me restless, irritable, and discontent. Although from what I have learned, there is a power lying in wait—bred from this harrowing disease. Though I may lack discipline at times, the drive is there. Though I may lack humility at times, the grit remains. Now, pack a group of alcoholics together on a three day trip in the wilderness, facing a rural abundance of lakes, roads, and split decisions on their own. This is where things really get interesting.

To kick off this trip, we all left at three in the morning in a torrential rain storm. Regardless of the darkness and the slick roads, we made it to the outfitters where we picked up our canoes for the paddle ahead. As if driving down dirt roads wasn’t enough to slow us down, now we had canoes strapped tediously to the top of each of our three cars. Now, everything was going pretty damn smooth until we got to the entry point of our lake. We waited about an hour for our third car to arrive. No sign of them. At this point we are without cell service, and are playing the dreaded waiting game.

With the feeling of worry rising, Ben and I decide to backtrack down the dirt road to search for our lost boys. After all, there were quite a few points where one could take a wrong turn. Adding in the factor of a canoe on a car, and the lack of sleep we all had the night before the drive, the possibilities of something less than what we planned happening—was quite high.

Long story short, we came to find out that the boys got lost about an hour away from the rendezvous, of course after a slightly panicked call to Shane. Once we eventually all got to the entry point, we were about three hours late to the time we had originally planned to get on the water. We paddled around for a couple hours scoping out camping sites but only found one open site, which was less substantial than what we had hoped for—factoring in that we had seven people to fit at said campsite. The day went on, beautifully in fact. However, people started to get pretty exhausted, as we had been paddling without breakfast or lunch. We ended up sending out a scout canoe, including Ben, Ant, and I—in hopes of finding a site without having everyone paddle around aimlessly.

As the day suddenly turned into evening, the exhaustion, irritability, and panic, started to set in anew, there were two options. After eight hours of paddling and about ten sites visited,

which were all occupied—we had to decide. Again, trying to get seven alcoholics to agree on something? Well, I say we did quite well. We could either illegally set up camp on a—respectfully—pitiful island whilst risking a hefty fine, or we could paddle for our lives and haul ass back to the car. We chose the latter. Now, imagine being exhausted with no food, having an alcoholic capacity for resentment, and racing the dark of the wilderness. Right right. That night concluded with sunburns, a stay in a hotel, and microwaved hot dogs.

The next morning found us back on the water—bright and early this time—heading straight to a campsite in which we knew someone had just left. Odds in our favor, you know? Then add in tsunami level waves. Well, that is an exaggeration, though only slightly. We honorably paddled against the waves and wind, to venture to the site. It was taken. We then saw someone completely capsize. I think the sight of seeing someone’s things

floating away and their dogs in panic promoted us to a conclusion. Sometimes you just have to take your wins and cut your losses. Defeated, but crusading nonetheless, we paddled back to the car. The trip concluded with us—slightly begrudgingly—settling at a camping ground off of the Boundary Waters, and spending the last couple of days camping amongst one another there.

Now, for a group of alcoholics attempting to go on a self-orchestrated trip in the most secluded wilderness of the Midwest—

Three nights, three cars, three in the morning. Lastly, a third step prayer;

“God, I offer myself to Thee—to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt.

Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will.

Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those

I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life.

I would personally say we behaved more than admirably. There were so many times along this trip where agitation and anger could have easily taken over, consuming all the freshness of the crisp air. However, throughout eight hours of paddling you could hear laughing and singing ringing out across the water. In a hotel you could see us sharing hot dog buns and war stories of the day. At a campsite you would see us stoking fires in clouds of cigarette smoke. In the dark you would see a clump of bodies laying beneath shooting stars. In the rain you would see a table of friends playing cards underneath a tarp. Around the fire you would hear ghost stories and peoples favorite colors.

Despite the feared outcome of an unwelcome reality and a rocky start to our venture, the group of us rallied together to make the most out of the initially tediously fated trip. As alcoholics, there is always going to be the innate reaction and want to be self-centered, egotistical, prideful, resentful, and fearful. However, along with those character aspects I have found that perseverance, hard-headedness, drive, compassion, comradery, and faith co-exist too. To have fought negative instinctual reactions and exhibit understanding, openness, and willingness, is no small feat for anyone—even more so the alcoholic.

May I do Thy will always!”

Dropping the illusion of control, dropping the—at times—overwhelming sense of self, showing radical compassion by doing what one can for another. These are three things that were astoundingly abundant throughout the pioneering of this crazy and stressful experience. To watch my best friends be there for each other and myself—overflowing with willingness—was a far more rewarding experience than the chance that we could have stayed in the Boundary Waters.

So you see, three really is a magic number.

Written by BJ

June 2026

Hey everyone, I’m BJ and I have been in StepUP since 2023. I figured I would write a little bit about fishing because it has become a pretty important part of my life and sobriety.

about Minnesota is that even in the middle of the city, you are never too far from water. You can still find quiet spots where things slow down for a while.

This winter I went ice fishing up on Red Lake with a bunch of people in recovery. We camped out on the ice for three days and caught a pile of walleye. Sitting out there in the middle of winter with good people, cold air, heaters running, and lines in the water was one of those memories that sticks with you. I also love trout fishing down at Whitewater State Park. There is just something peaceful about standing in moving water surrounded by bluffs and woods that

resets my brain. I like all kinds of fishing. Walleye fishing over rock beds with a Lindy rig and a leech or a big worm is hard to beat, especially when you pull dinner up from the bottom of the lake. I love throwing topwater lures for bass too. There is nothing quiet about a bass smashing a lure off the surface of the Mississippi. One second everything is calm, then the fight is on. I like northern and crappie too, especially when the weather is cold.

A big part of sobriety for me is learning how to have fun in between the accomplishments. Fishing gives me that. It gets me outside, away from the noise and stress of the normal day.

Sometimes I go alone because it becomes almost meditative for me. It gives me time to think, breathe, and reconnect with myself. Other times I bring people with me because some of the best conversations happen sitting next to the water waiting for a bite. Either way, it keeps me grounded.

I think growing up in Minnesota shaped that part of me. Up north in the country it's common to spend most of our time outdoors. You learn early that nature can calm you

down and clear your head. Even now, no matter how busy life gets, I still feel most like myself standing near the water with a fishing rod in my hand. One thing I have learned in recovery is that you do not always have to do things alone. Fishing is one of those hobbies where there is always room for one more person. If somebody wants to come along, I am usually open to it. Whether we catch fish or not, it is still time well spent.

Boundary waters photo taken by Ben G.

It has been too long since this newsletter arrived in your inbox, and I'm glad it's landing in September - National Recovery Month, and the week our students move back into the Oren Gateway Center. There's no better time to tell you where StepUP® stands.

The short version: we are steady, and our students are finishing what they started.

What this past year proved:

If I had to name one result that defined 2025-2026, it would be retention. Across a year serving 41 students in the fall and 42 in the spring, one student left Augsburg. One.

That's the number I'd point to before any other, because it tells you students aren't simply arriving here - they're staying, recovering, and finishing.

I want to be specific about why, because it isn't luck. Several years ago, we restructured StepUP into two tiers: Tier 2, our residential community in the Oren Gateway Center, and Tier 1, for students who live off campus but want the full weight of a recovery community behind them. That structure let us meet students where they actually are - a sophomore living in OGC and a transfer student commuting from

across the metro need different things from us, and now we can give them different things without diluting either. Our students come from Augsburg, the University of Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis College, and Hamline.

Recovery, it turns out, doesn't respect institutional boundaries. Neither do we.

In May, seven StepUP students crossed the stage at commencement. I have been part of this program for 10 years, first as a counselor and now as director, and that ceremony does not get less remarkable.

What’s ahead this year:

Our peer mentorship program returns this fall after a rebuild. Pairing newer students with those further along has always been the quiet engine of this community, and we've restructured it so mentors are trained and supported rather than left to improvise.

We're also deepening relationships with recovery high schools - PEASE Academy here at home, Interagency Recovery High School in Seattle, and 5280 in Denver. Students graduating from those schools have already done extraordinary work. They deserve a college that doesn't ask them to start over.

And our Student Peer Advisors finished a full week of training in August, covering everything from confidentiality to on-call response to facilitating our All Recovery meetings - gatherings open to anyone in recovery from a broad range of experiences, not substance use alone.

Thank you

None of this operates without the people reading this letter. Our students' financial need is real and persistent, and scholarship support remains the difference between a student staying and a student leaving. If you've given, hosted, hired, referred, or simply told someone

hat StepUP exists - thank you.

We'll be back in your inbox again soon.

With gratitude,

Ericka Otterson, MSW, LADC

Director, StepUP® Program Augsburg University

like drugs or alcohol are abused to cope with life’s ups and downs. Cross-addictions eventually serve the same function as a previous substance use disorder. For example, if somebody who suffered from alcohol use disorder develops a risky relationship with gambling, they will be facing similar (if not, worse) financial struggles to when they did while drinking. This can also cause more strain on relationships with friends and family that had previously been repaired through recovery.

Cross-addictions have also been found to lead to relapses of the primary addictions as well. Research has shown that substituting one substance or behavior with another ceases the progression of a person’s recovery. In early recovery, it’s very important for individuals to abstain from these cross-addictive

behaviors and substances. Emotions run high in early recovery, the brain and body are actively healing, and an addict may reach for anything that will help them cope with these emotions that have been previously muted or silenced by substances.

Studies continue to show the same result, that abstinence based recovery has led to a higher quality of life overall than treatment options that utilize cross-addictions as “harm reduction". Post-treatment options such as intensive outpatient programs can contribute positively to one’s recovery and have shown to be effective in lessening the likelihood of cross-addictions becoming a future issue in their recovery. The research on cross-addiction is relatively novel, but the ultimate conclusion is that it is not as effective as abstinence. (Sinclair, et al.)