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Lauren Lozada / Greek Life Leader / Hofstra University
Erica came to speak at an event during Greek Week at Hofstra and she was FANTASTIC. Sororities and fraternities are a very tough audience, but I have never seen them so engaged and willing to participate as during her presentation. We host speakers that target drug and alcohol abuse frequently, and I think we all agreed that Erica was our favorite yet. Perfect balance of a serious message with humor and fun.
Kyle A. Pendleton / Assistant Dean of Students / Purdue University
Erica’s program impacted the students in a very personal way with the conversations sparked by her story continuing long after the program. Her approach is one part reality check combined with one part prevention program. Students truly felt connected to her and her brother and shared in the agonizing realization that they have the power to prevent alcohol related tragedies from occurring.
Brooke Brookins / Phi Mu President / Georgia College & State University
Erica Upshaw did a FABULOUS job speaking to our Phi Mu Chapter at GCSU! All of the girls were so intrigued by what she had to say and she made her presentation informative yet fun. We all feel fully secure that we know how to party safe and keep friendship alive! Thank you Erica and hopefully we will see you in GA again soon!!
John Stacy / Advisor to SAE Fraternity / University of Kansas
I am a speaker and a trainer myself. I had the pleasure of bringing Erica Upshaw to our campus. All I can say is that she is absolutely the very best I have ever seen. While her message is urgent and important, her demeanor and delivery is comfortable and spellbinding.
Cindy Potthoff / Lincoln Southeast Community Group / Lincoln, NE
After Erica left our high school, I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from the students, teachers, and parents. One of the kids said, “Erica didn’t talk down to us at all – she included us in the discussion.” Kids are still talking about what she had to say. My daughter said last weekend there was a girl who had too much to drink, and the friends with her went down the emergency checklist Erica provided. Also, we had no incidents at prom, post prom, and a REALLY great spring! Erica is warm, endearing, and so much fun. Besides being great for the kids, I really enjoyed visiting with her!
Daniel Kim / Student Coordinator Greek Life & Affairs / Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
My name is Daniel Kim and I am a Student Coordinator at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. I present and facilitate many presentations for our office. I attended Erica’s program, “Keep Friendship Alive”, at the WRGLC in San Francisco this past weekend. I thought it was GREAT! It was real, honest, to the heart, and educational for everyone. It related to “our” generation of students and was not a lecture of what we can and cannot do, rather it was a story from the heart that touched each and every person in the room. I thought it was not just an ordinary presentation on alcohol poisoning that many presenters give. Thank you for sharing your story Erica, and making a difference!
Kalen Olsen / VP New Member Services Panhellenic Council / Washington State
I really enjoyed Erica’s talk in St. Louis. I have been to dozens of alcohol “programs” it seems like. All of them consist of a speaker who is almost over-educated in the field, but none have any “real” experience. They present a dry presentation with facts and BAC calculation sheets as well as a few students who drank a lot and didn’t survive the night. However, they didn’t know these people so it was like listening to the most boring book report for a class. However, Keep Friendship Alive was so personal that I think anyone can relate to it. I am so glad I went. It made me think a lot and I appreciate the honesty and compassion Erica gave during her talk. I think WSU would benefit a lot from her presentation.
Teddy Byrne/ Intra-Fraternal Council President / Keene State College
I was in Hartford, Connecticut for a national Greek Life conference when the end of the day was drawing near. The final speaker I was going to see was Erica Upshaw and not much was known about her presentation except for the small blurb in the handout given for the conference. As Erica began speaking, everyone was drawn into her story of loss and captivated by her straightforward, personal approach. Teary-eyed and motivated to help others, I worked hard to bring Erica to speak at my school, Keene State College. What started as bringing Erica to our campus as a speaker, turned into a days worth of events promoting alcohol awareness. The first ever Keene State “Day of Clarity” was headlined by Erica’s speech where she told her story to the entire Greek Life community. Bringing Erica to our campus was more then what I could have expected. I have received nothing but positive feedback and after seeing her presentation multiple times, I would highly recommend that others do what they can to bring her to speak to friends and colleagues. Her story of loss, and current dedication to helping others learn from her past experiences, has definitely made members of the Keene State community make positive changes in their lives.
Roxy Garrity / Student / Roanoke College
About two nights after Erica’s presentation, my boyfriend went out with some of his friends to have a good time and ended up drinking way too much. One of his friends decided that this was too much for my boyfriend to sleep off and called an ambulance for him. They sent him to the hospital instead of taking him back to his room. It was one of the scariest nights I have ever had, but I am so glad they took him there. The doctor said if he had been just a few more points closer to .3 he would have died. My boyfriend still drinks, but he is more careful now about what he drinks and how much he has. I believe that if Erica had not come to our school, my boyfriend’s friends would have just let him sleep it off and he would not have survived the night.
