By Sheri Alzeerah

Photo by John Foxworth

“We Can Do It!” the iconic poster cried out on a wall in the Center for Students in Recovery office burrowed in the social work building basement.

Rosie the Riveter, meet your match. Ivana Grahovac, a bubbly blonde with a contagious laugh and an inspiring mission, is a force to be reckoned with — a force with more energy than a gallon of Red Bull. Spearheading the Center for Students in Recovery, Grahovac provides a boundless supply of support, activities, programming and education to students developing and maintaining sobriety.

Grahovac does what she loves and loves what she does. Since starting her UT career in March, her infectious attitude and fervor for reaching out has transformed the University—and more notably, students’ lives.

“No matter how far a person has fallen because of their addiction, there is still something so beautiful inside of them,” Grahovac said.

Leading students to realize their inner beauty is Grahovac’s specialty. By providing students with a safe haven, she brings Longhorns together in an environment unlike any other. Sixty student members meet up for weekly meetings that are far from ordinary. From Dance Dance Sober Revolution to campus scavenger hunts to Yoga classes, Grahovac puts her own spin on recovery.

“I myself am in recovery, and I know from personal experiences and from the research literature that students who wish to stay sober need a community,” Grahovac said. “They need a community to feel strong enough to resist continued temptation. “

The community Grahovac builds is centered on a principle that’s in line with the University’s mission.

“The best way for people to re-enter society is to get an education,” Grahovac said.

Grahovac earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan, where she started a similar recovery group for students while enrolled there.

“Since I moved here, my students have kept me sober,” Grahovac said. “They’ve carried me through my transition, and because of the positive energy that they transmit, kept me coming back to work.”

The Center for Students in Recovery is one of only 14 collegiate recovery centers in the country, and for that, “UT rocks,” Grahovac said. And Grahovac is a bona fide rock star.