The peer education team in West Chester University´s (WCU) Office of Wellness Promotion has won first place in a national student contest to create a public service announcement for National Red Ribbon Week alcohol and other drug awareness and prevention efforts. The win comes with $5,000 earmarked for prevention initiatives on campus, and the team received the award at the NASPA Strategies Conference, with several peer educators attending the presentation.

Their 55-second PSA, “Life is a Puzzle: Choose the Right Pieces,” uses a simple visual twist to challenge drinking culture without preaching. In the video, one student offers another an alcoholic drink at a party. The second student accepts, then reaches into the glass and pulls out a puzzle piece, a moment that turns the scene into a metaphor about choices that do not really fit. The story then cuts to puzzle graphics and a montage of students studying, playing sports, and spending time together in healthier, substance-free ways, before the drink is poured out, puzzle pieces and all.

The project was created under the leadership of Bridget Looby, assistant director of Wellness Promotion, with the peer educators writing the script, acting, and handling production themselves. Looby framed the contest as a way for students to translate prevention messages into content that other students will actually watch, while also aligning with the department’s logic model focus on alcohol and other drugs. The team is certified through NASPA and trained across topics including AOD, mental health, sexual health, and well-being. After the awards event on January 16 in Chicago, the peer educators also shared their approach in a conference session on using media to support prevention and recovery work. The contest was cosponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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