UW-Madison junior Pei Hsien Lee said she just stumbled across the Live Free application one day, and decided to apply. Lee is in the Wisconsin School of Business, and she got the public relations position in Live Free.
She said Live Free has been focused on helping people become aware of their substance use, and providing them with resources if they want them.
"I don't think we're just helping the people in recovery, we're also changing the culture in some ways to normalize the culture of not drinking and not using substances,” Lee said. “Because I believe most of the problems stem from peer pressure, just having an extra person to say, 'No, it's fine to not drink. It's fine to just be.'"
Lee said she hopes Live Free can better reach out to international students in the future, as their first months on campus can be isolating and alienating, leading to bad substance use habits.
"International students come to America and it is very foreign to them, and just being homesick or just having to embrace a different culture, a drinking culture,” Lee said. “We definitely want to work with more international students, people of color, to engage them and tell them, 'It's fine. It's not normal to drink all of the time. It's fine if you do, but it's fine if you don't.'"