 "Photo: Courtesy Kristen Shymanovitz Trudeau")
“For me to be standing here today, with even a single brain cell, is anything short from a miracle,” said national motivation speaker, Randy Haveson.
Delta Zeta Sorority presented Haveson to celebrate National Alcohol Awareness Week on Oct. 23 at the DeRoy Auditorium.
With his brown corduroy pants, polo shirt and hush puppies, friends and family used to refer to Haveson as the cute, little “Ricky Ricardo” as a child. But that once perceived innocent image of Haveson was altered at the age of 15 when his life was forever changed.
After he encountered his sister and her friend smoking marijuana in the backyard, Haveson was appalled to be in the presence of such substance. His sister convinced him that it was harmless and pressured him into trying the drug for the first time.
A couple of coughs and “duck noises” later, Haveson was alarmed to find himself in a normal state of condition.
“DARE Officer Dan, my parents and my teachers all lied to me,” Haveson said. “I didn’t go crazy. I didn’t go to jail.”
During high school, Haveson had blossomed into a social butterfly and people were setting him as their speed dial for drugs.
“I had everything an adolescent male could possibly want. I was getting smarter, taller and thinner, and the girls were getting cuter,” Haveson said. “Why would I say no?”
However, his addiction to drugs and alcohol didn’t always bring him praise and progressions. After earning a 1.55 G.P.A. in his first semester at Oregon State University, and failing to improve the next semester, Haveson was put on academic probation.
He then decided that school was not for him and chose to pursue his dream of being a rock star. He landed an opportunity to work with a band that was in search of a drummer.
From parties to headline concerts, the band escalated into a huge hit.
Although they were at the peak of their career in the music industry, the members of the band were concerned with Haveson’s drug problem. They forced him to make a choice between the drugs or the band. Flabbergasted with their reaction, Haveson quit the band.
“I am a firm believer that if you really break it down to the core, we all have one thing in common,” Haveson said. “We are nothing more than a product of the choices we make.”
After surviving a heart attack from cocaine, Haveson decided it was time to go back to school. He enrolled in San Diego State University and was expelled. After getting fired as a pizza delivery guy, that was his last straw and suicide seemed to be his only option.
As he placed a knife across his throat, he gazed at the mirror and made eye contact with himself. At 5 feet 9 inches, 134 pounds, scraggly hair and a ghostly white complexion, he couldn’t recognize himself.
Bewildered at what to do next, it took him 45 minutes to finally make a phone call to a crisis hotline. He spoke with a representative who reassured him that recovery is possible and that she had been sober for more than a year.
“That woman saved my life, she gave me hope,” Haveson said.
He has been sober since that day, May 28, 1984.
“All those years, people were always telling me to just say no,” Haveson said. “But, they never taught me about tolerance, progressions, blackouts and how to ask for help.”
Haveson has developed a “Party With a Plan” that teaches students how to party responsibly, succeed academically, and how not to lose their friends.
Haveson’s plan consists of “the 0-1-2-3 code” which is as follows:
0 — There are times when having zero drinks is your best bet. Trust your instinct. If you’re on medication, if you have to drive, or if you’ve been sick, then it is best that you refrain from drinking.
1 — No more than one drink per hour (12 oz. beer, 4oz. wine, 1 oz. shot).
2 — Limit your drinking to no more than two times per week.
3 — No more than three drinks in one day.
“Problems with alcohol abuse run in my family,” said Beth Hodson, student and Delta Zeta Sorority member. “Randy’s stories definitely make you more aware that it could actually happen to you.”
Haveson graduated with a Master of Art in counseling. He has over 20 years of experience as a professional speaker, therapist and university health educator. He is also the founder of The HERO House, the nation’s first alcohol recovery center for college students.
“I think Randy is a very effective speaker because he doesn’t just preach the note,” said Jennifer Walker, class sisterhood chair of Delta Zeta Sorority. “He has actually been there and has recovered.”
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