The GameChanger Board of Directors is proposing budgeting an amount exceeding one million dollars toward the development of GameChanger University, a groundbreaking online platform designed to provide state-of-the-art prevention education focused on opioid and substance misuse, including the dangers of deadly fentanyl. This platform will serve public, private, and home-schooled students statewide. GameChanger University is the centerpiece of One State, One Vision, a dynamic collaboration between West Virginia University, Marshall University, and GameChanger.
The initiative aims to launch this cutting-edge platform for West Virginia educators, students, and parents by the 2026– 2027 school year. Once fully developed, GameChanger University will deliver age-appropriate, evidence-based and evidence-informed lessons for students in grades K–12, utilizing tailored technology that adapts to each grade level. The platform will also include built-in flexibility to integrate educational responses to future drug threats as they arise. Importantly, GameChanger University will support the school’s compliance with Laken’s Law, passed by the West Virginia Legislature in 2024.
This visionary law mandates that all students in grades 6–12 receive instruction on fentanyl, heroin, and opioid misuse—as well as training in the use of FDA-approved opioid reversal agents. The platform will provide schools with an easy-toaccess tool for fulfilling these life-saving requirements. Last year, because of this free service provided by GameChanger approximately 175,000 middle and high school students in over 200 middle and high schools took advantage of this service. “I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about the concept—and now the development—of GameChanger University,” said Dr. Michael Hecht, distinguished professor emeritus at Penn State University and President of Real Prevention, LLC.
Joe Boczek, founder and executive director of GameChanger, emphasized that GameChanger University will be a key piece of the organization’s ongoing mission. “Considering 200,000 plus students from over 200 middle and high schools in West Virginia met the requirements mandated by Laken’s Law and with the continued forward, and visionary thinking of the West Virginia State Legislature, it only makes sense to develop an online platform such as GameChanger University to serve every West Virginia student whether they are in the public, private or home school based education system.
This extensive project is made even more possible with the help of the exceptional people at WVU and Marshall, our own GameChanger team, and the guidance of national prevention education leaders like Dr. Hecht. “ GameChanger is a student-powered substance misuse prevention movement committed to building supportive school environments that reduce drug use and empower youth to make healthy, informed choices as our future leaders of tomorrow.
