WILLISTON, N.D. - From a standout athlete who was later arrested for vehicular homicide to a changed man who earned his MBA, Ethan Fisher has experienced a lifetime of lessons and will share his story with WSC and community members on March 21 in the Well at 7 p.m.
Fisher first began drinking his junior year of high school and started experimenting with drugs while in college. Despite his successful basketball career and countless opportunities, Fisher spiraled downward and eventually killed a man while driving drunk. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Fisher was later released in 2007 for good behavior and turned this life around.
Fisher returned to school and basketball, achieved two BA's and an MBA, and created his non-profit agency, Life CONsequences. He now tours the county sharing his story.
"I believe it is important to talk about the ramifications of alcohol and drug abuse because they are a very real part of our community," stated Leah Hoffman, WSC's Mental Health Counselor. "During teen and early adult years students are going through many changes. Experimenting with alcohol or drugs is a very high risk decision because the person may perceive that the substance use is working for them, which would make them more likely to continue to use, when in reality the substances are only masking the issues or making them worse."
Hoffman continued to explain that speakers like Fisher bring attention to how a few decisions can change someone's life in both a negative and positive way, but also teach students that you can control how you can react and adapt.
Free and open to the public, Hoffman and Student Life Coordinator, Karissa Kjos have teamed up to host this event.
Funded through the Mental Health Task Force and the partnership between Lake Region, Bottineau, and WSC, Fisher's speaking engagements bring in a large crowd, so early arrival is recommended.
"We are honored to have another great speaker on campus that is open to the public," stated Kjos. "Fisher's topics hit close to home for a lot of our students and people in our community, but understanding how he dealt with the adversity will be the take-away a lot of listeners look forward to hearing."
WSC hopes to continue to provide speaking engagements open to the public once a semester. If you have any topics or know of any speakers you would like to hear from, please contact Karissa Kjos at 701.774.4213
For any information regarding WSC, please visit www.willistonstate.edu,
call 1.888.863.9455, or stop by 1410 University Avenue, Williston, ND.