Choices Matter Changemakers

Fletcher Cleaves

Fletcher Cleaves was involved in a tragic car crash that left him paralyzed from the chest down due to a driver suspected of texting while behind the wheel. This traumatic incident caused him to lose his football scholarship but with faith, perseverance, and a year of intense physical therapy, he re-enrolled in school and graduated from The University of Memphis with a degree in Computer Science. Now as a professional motivational speaker, Fletcher has shared his testimony of overcoming adversity, safe driving, importance of education, and faith-based living with ESPN, College Game-Day, and over 700 high schools, colleges, and businesses. Fletcher is also a world traveler obtaining the nickname “The Wheelchair Nomad”. He travels to many countries living life to the fullest while also bringing awareness to accessibility issues in the travel industry.

To many, his crash seemed like the end of a young man’s promising future, but on the contrary, it became the prologue to his destiny.

Rave Reviews

If you’d like to share your experience, we’d love to hear about it!

Hi Marin!
IT WENT AMAZING!
I told Fletcher, Michaela, and Lynzey that our sophomore group is one of our “rowdier” groups, so I was a little nervous about their behavior, but they were engaged, participating, and hooked the entire time. When Fletcher was speaking, you could hear a pin drop on how focused they were! They were even talking about it in the halls and during lunch with their friends from other grade levels. It was phenomenal. We will absolutely want to make this an occurring assembly at OCHS!
I am so thankful for all of the work and organization that you all put into these assemblies. It was such a powerful and impactful time for our students, and I fully believe that they took away important messages. I talked about it with my husband in JCPS, and I think he may be sharing the word with his administration. I will talk highly of this assembly everywhere I go!
I would love to write a thank you card to Fletcher, Michaela, and Lynzey – if I send them to the address in your email signature, could you make sure they get to them?
Thank you again! I look forward to working with you more!

Jenna
School Counselor
Oldham County High School
Buckner, 
Kentucky

It was absolutely fantastic! From the set up to the presentation- everything was very well done! If you have any kind of evaluation form for me to fill out, I would be happy to. It was a blessing for our students and staff! Fletcher did a great job relating to and engaging with the students.

So glad you reached out to us and we have this connection now!

Maria
Thomas Magnet School
Shelbyville, 
Tennessee

Dear Fletcher Cleaves,
My name is Anna. I play basketball; in the winter I ride horse. Pretty much all year, and I play feld hockey all year round.
I don’t know yet if I want to play field hockey in college but I know I want to be really good now and I want to be the best at it. Your speech helped me to realize that I can be the best, and nobody can tell me otherwise.
My favorite thing you said was, ‘Sky is not the limit.’

Thank you so much for coming I enjoyed it very much.

Anna
Student
Bellow Falls Middle School
Rockingham, 
Vermont

Thank you so much for bringing the Choices Matter presentation to Saint Joseph High School. Fletcher Cleaves delivered a powerful message that truly resonated with our students. The kids were utterly engaged from beginning to end, and many shared how impactful and inspiring they found his story.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to host such a meaningful and timely program, especially as our students prepare for Prom and the end of the school year. Please extend our thanks to your team and, most importantly, to Fletcher for his honesty, energy, and encouragement. His message was exactly what our school community needed to hear.

We look forward to working with you again in the future!

Mr. Corey
Assistant Principal of Student Life
Saint Joseph High School
South Bend, 
Indiana

Dear Mr. Cleaves,

I just wanted to let you know how much you sharing your story and talking with our students means to me. I graduated from this school and during my freshman year of college I lost my best friend in a car accident. I think this is one of the reasons that I decided to become a teacher. So I could make a difference in my students’ lives and explain to them the importance of vigilance while driving. Sharing your story here is extremely important, and it is inspiring me to be a better man and teacher.

Thank you for coming to visit us.

Best,

Mr. Cronin
Trigg County, 
Kentucky

We are hearing good things about your recent appearance at our high school. Definitely spurred conversations!

“Almost a year later, I am still so thankful to have been able to meet and hear the story of Fletcher Cleaves. Not only has he opened our eyes to the dangers of distracted driving, but he has also taught us that the sky can’t possibly be the limit if there are footprints on the moon. Fletcher has taught me to never give up on my dreams and to not reach for the sky, but to reach for the stars.”

I wanted to send you a quick thank you for reaching out about visiting BFMS. Fletcher and the VPA team were super flexible, patient and awesome to listen to! My students were super engaged and I’m really grateful they got to experience Fletchers story. I think it made a huge impact.

Thank you so much, I hope we can stay in touch in the future!

Cat
Assistant Principal
Bellow Falls Middle School
Rockingham, 
Vermont

Thank you so much for going to our school and telling us your story. I love how you’re still positive even after everything that has happened. You have such good advice for everything. Not everyone has neough courage to tell their story to people. So, I thought it was cool that you did. You seem like such a funny person. You have a crazy story. But somehow you act like nothing ever happened. I love how even after you got paralyzed that didn’t stop you from doing your dreams and what you love.

You are an amazing person.

Student
Bellow Falls Middle School

Thank you Hillari,

Everything went wonderful yesterday why a great speaker and team!! Thank you so much for working with us, I think it really impacted our kids and I know they enjoyed it thank you so much! If we were to send a thank you can you tell me who we could address that to?

Pen Bay Christian School
Rockland, 
Maine
Choices Matter Podcast Logo

Fletcher on the Podcast

We are joined on the Choices Matter Podcast by Fletcher Cleaves, a nationally recognized speaker for the Choices Matter program and author of The Sky is Not the Limit: The Fletcher Cleaves Story.

Fletcher shares his unique personal story — how a distracted driver changed the course of his life forever, forcing him off the road and into a wheelchair. With a message grounded in humor, resilience, and hope, Fletcher reminds us that while we can’t control everything, the decisions we do make carry weight. Fletcher’s story is a powerful reminder that decisions made have consequences, and sometimes, those consequences reach far beyond ourselves.