HUDA QURESHI
campus editor
huda.qureshi@my.tccd.edu
When she was 21, Erin Roth was introduced to methamphetamines. The following years were a fight to prevent addiction and abuse from getting in the way of her goals.
Roth has faced substantial obstacles in her life, from an emotionally abusive relationship to high-impact relapses.
Roth plans to follow a career path focused on mental health. The passion stems from her struggles in the past. Her goal is to use her experience to help others. As a student on NE Campus, she works toward her goals with relevant coursework.
“If I got to have the exact thing that I want in the future, I would want to either be a psychologist or a licensed therapist,” Roth said.
Roth initially got clean at 23 because she went through a state of paranoia regarding her family. She said that she struggled with being in tune with reality.
“I was able to step back and zoom out and realize that OK, something’s wrong.’” Roth said. “This is not gonna work.”
She said she realized that the paranoia was drug-induced and became involved in recovering, she found the stability to pursue a Psychology degree on NE Campus.
“From 2004 to 2018, I was essentially clean,” Roth said. “I still had some hiccups but … I was in the [recovery] program. I was an active member. I had sponsees. It completely changed my life and that’s when I got my first degree.”
Roth did not graduate high school and found the process of starting college intimidating.
The push to go for her first degree came from an event in her 30s in which she had to put a child up for adoption. She said it was one of the hardest things she ever had to do.
“I got to this point in my head where I was like ‘If I just walked through this and survived, it would give me the courage to do other things,’” Roth said. “Going to school didn’t seem so hard anymore after what I had just gone through.”
She graduated with an Associate of Arts degree with a concentration in psychology in 2017 from TCC.
Shortly after completing her degree, an emotionally abusive relationship resurfaced in her life and led to a harsh relapse.
“I gave up so much of myself in regard to the things inside of me like my confidence. I destroyed my life logistically,” Roth said. “I had a phenomenal credit score. I took out all these loans for credit cards and stuff to get high and pay rent because I ended up getting fired from my job. It was just crazy. I messed up my credit, and I have an eviction on my record.”
She got clean again toward the end of 2020 but was left to deal with the ramifications.
“I was such a mess,” Roth said. “I ended up being diagnosed with PTSD. I had a level of anxiety that I had only ever seen other people experience, and most of that had to do with the trauma from the narcissistically abusive relationship.”
Andrea Scheid met Roth in 2011 and has seen Roth’s struggle with addiction and her journey to recovery.
“It was really inspiring to see her overcome addiction and create a new life for herself,” Scheid said. “During our friendship…she was very loyal friend and very encouraging.”
Richard Brown is also a longtime friend of Roth. He met her in 2005 at a 12-step meeting. He said he instantly gravitated towards Roth’s sense of style and humor. Brown emphasized Roth’s consideration of others, including her dogs.
“She really wants to be that giving caring person toward others,” Brown said. “I can see it, not just with their family members but in her friendships and in her animals. She’s a huge animal lover. I’ve never seen her dote on anybody more than her own animals like her dogs. They’re her life.”
Roth said she found a community with recovering addicts and leans on them to maintain her recovery. She said people have the power to choose to manifest a life that goes in any direction that they’d like, whether that be positive or negative.
“We’re all in recovery staying clean, you know?” Roth said. “What we’re talking about in recovery, you’re not talking about surface stuff, like ‘Oh, I like your shirt.’. No, you go really deep and do it with other people. You build intimate connections that are not typical for most people to have. So, there’s a level of intimacy that actually makes you stronger.”
