Student View Q & A

Eric Vincent ’12

Eric Vincent and a few buddies were snowboarding at Stowe Mountain Resort on Jan. 21, 2009, when Vincent took a near-fatal fall that sent him to intensive care in Fletcher Allen hospital in Burlington for three weeks. He overshot the landing off one of the biggest jumps on the mountain, landing on his side on flat ground from 30 feet in the air. It was the equivalent of being hit by a bus traveling 30 miles per hour, doctors said.

Vincent was in a coma for a week and half and couldn't speak for about a week after he finally woke up. Along with suffering a brain injury and resultant memory loss, he broke multiple ribs, his collarbone, tailbone, and pelvis, collapsed both lungs; and lacerated his liver. He was lucky to be alive. After a month in the hospital, he moved to Fanny Allen rehab center for several weeks before going home to Rhode Island for more physical therapy and healing. "Every little bit of my recovery has been a struggle, to say the least," he said.

By summer, Vincent was getting ready to live on his own again and moved back to Burlington and took a psychology class at UVM. He got a "D+," but as he said, "I put more effort into it than anything else I've ever done. Taking a course like that while still recovering from a brain injury is no easy task, let me tell you! But it did get me back into the college level of thinking, and prepared me to do well this year."

He returned to classes at Champlain College in the fall of 2009, majoring in Communications. He says he is definitely glad to be back.

What brought you to Champlain College?

I ended up here at Champlain because my sister goes to the University of Vermont - so I visited her a few times before I started college and really liked Burlington and the whole scene. I was also really attracted to the size of Champlain because it allows for more one-on-one, personal communication with the professors. Another reason I came here was so that I can snowboard a lot.

Your injuries were life-threatening? Can you talk a bit about the support and help you and your family received from the College and your friends?

Well, I had some great support from my parents and my sister and the rest of my family. My parents were by my side pretty much the whole time. I sort of remember them holding my hand and talking to me (they were telling me what had happened and that I was going to be okay).

I received a comforting level of support from the College also. Carol Moran-Brown did everything she could for me and I couldn't be more thankful. President Finney visited me in the hospital to let me know Champlain was there for me and would lend their support in any way they could... and they have.

My friends also came and visited me a lot, which was great. All the support from everyone really helped me get better quicker. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. That was really my biggest motivation for getting better in less than half the time that the doctors predicted.

You wrote and sang a song about the accident at the Champlain College Festival of Lights in December. Your family was in the audience. How did that feel?

Good. My parents really enjoyed it. They've always been very involved with my music and me as a performer. I had talked to them about what I was going to say and they gave me their feedback and input, which is always helpful. Overall the show was a great success.

Has this past year given you a new perspective?

The whole experience of this accident, from the day it happened until now, has been the hardest year of my life, but also the year in which I've learned the most, I've come the farthest, and I've accomplished more than I ever have. I definitely have a whole new perspective on life and how to live it. I've learned that really, all that matters is your health, your happiness, and your family, or whoever loves you and will do anything for you. Aside from that, everything else is just details.