Rovero was a Cal High graduate who attended Arizona State University. While at a party on the campus, Rovero took a cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol that sent him to the hospital. On Dec. 18, 2009, Rovero died because of a prescription drug overdose.
The NCAPDA was created after Rovero’s death by his family and friends to educate high school students about the dangers of prescription drugs. And in March they came to Cal High.
The assembly was phenomenal. Personally, I walked into the assembly expecting pretentious speakers who treated the students like third graders and explained to us very clearly and simply that drugs were bad, and we should never take them. Like we hadn’t heard it for the last decade at least.
But this assembly was surprisingly different.
It started off with a student made video. This video was created by San Ramon High School’s video production class. The video stated a series of facts about prescription drugs, such as the chance for addiction and the number of students who die from prescription drug overdoses in the U.S.
Most student videos tend to have loud pounding music that covers up any dialogue. But this video actually had tasteful music that stayed low in the background to keep the focus on the dialogue in the video.
After the video there was a presenter. I expected the typical presenter from these types of assembly, someone who spoke to the students in a condescending tone.
I was pleasantly surprised by his presentation. He just told the facts, didn’t sugar coat them at all, and then got off the stage. His simple approach to the assembly is what made it powerful.
After his presentation there was a video of Rovero. Most videos tend to be made in a style similar to documentaries. In this video, Rovero’s tragic story was told by his family and friends, along with the impact it had on Rovero’s loved ones after his death.
Rovero’s mother then stepped on stage and told the students how hard it was to lose her son. And how losing him to something as preventable as a prescription drug overdose made it even worse.
Then there was a video dealing with addiction to prescription drugs. The video focused on a graduate of San Ramon High School and his battle with prescription drug addiction. It also followed how his family found out about his addiction and forced him to get treatment.
Both of these videos were powerful due to their simplicity. Presenting the facts with no sugar coating is the most powerful way to present. And the NCAPDA took this to heart and kept it simple.
Having friends and family members of prescription drug abusers, especially Rovero, talk was moving. And their message was a simple one, if you know someone abusing prescription drugs speak out.
It was a powerful assembly. And while it won’t change most kids minds about abusing prescription drugs, it certainly raised awareness. And it also raised the extremely valid point that keeping silent about someone’s abuse of prescription drugs could lead to the abuser’s death. No excuse is worth losing friends and family over.
At the end of the assembly the NCAPDA had a series of resources available about prescription drug awareness. They gave out flyers explaining the effect of certain drugs, business cards with phone numbers to help with prescription drug abuse, and wrist bands.
What I want to mention specifically was the behavior of Cal High’s students in the assembly.
The students who attended were extremely respectful and attentive. I know many of the students were probably bored out of their minds, but they acted like mature adults at the assembly which reflects well on Cal High.
The student body’s mature actions made me proud to be from Cal High in that assembly, and the students deserve as much credit for this as the NCAPDA for presenting.
