Steve Emt

Choices Matter Changemakers

Steve Emt knows what it takes to overcome adversity. He had it all; the popular kid in school, the star athlete…he was invincible. Or so he thought. At the age of 25, his life took a dramatic turn when a drunk driving crash changed him forever. After hours of surgery and days in a coma, he woke up to learn that he was paralyzed from the waist down and would never walk again. Confined to a wheelchair, Steve was faced with the challenge of learning how to live again.

He was also faced with a decision. Lose the battle to his disability. Or accept what had happened and realize that he needed to lead a life of educating and impacting others. He chose the latter…nothing was going to hold him back.

After 17 years of experimenting with many different adaptive sports, Steve was introduced to the sport of curling. He not only fell in love with the sport but realized that his dream of being an Olympian may still be attainable. Through hard work, commitment, and dedication, Steve earned a position on Team USA in the Winter of 2014 and has remained with the team ever since. To date, Steve is a 10-time U.S. National Champion, has competed in 7 World Championships and two Paralympic Games.

Steve has overcome many obstacles in his life including his accident, the death of both of his parents, and other setbacks by finishing college, earning his teaching and coaching degrees, and representing his country as a Paralympian.

He has spent the last 29 years educating, coaching, mentoring, and delivering his presentation to groups of all ages, empowering people to believe in themselves and become the hero of their own lives. He is now an accomplished public speaker, sharing his formula for success and empowering people to believe in themselves and become the hero of their own lives.

Rave Reviews

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

Hi, Sorry for the late response, end of the school year gets crazy! We all really enjoyed it. Some students had lunch with your crew before the presentation and really appreciated the extra time. Students volunteered to stay after to help clean and chat more. Because we are a smaller residential school sometimes we have the same kids for a year or two, however Steve said we could possibly schedule a different speaker if we wanted to offer another experience. The banner is hanging in our school house. The packet about teamwork and captain/leadership qualities is awesome, I plan on using that in my P.E. classes. I am reaching out to our English teachers to see if they can incorporate Steves book into their curriculum somehow. Some students have borrowed it to read already. Here are some emails I got from some students who attended!

Teacher

Glenholme School

Washington,

Connecticut

Thank you! Choices Matter!

Students

Ellsworth High School

Ellsworth,

Maine

Thank you for taking the time to come out to our school and share your story. I took away so many things from the presentation, specifically empoweriment!

I absolutely loved it and it made me think very deeply about the choices I make.

Lexi

Student

Ellsworth High School

Ellsworth,

Maine

Incredibly grateful and inspired after spending some time with Paralympian, Author, Coach, Teacher, and Incredible Human, Steve Emt.

There has been so much positive feedback from students! Our sophomore and junior classes participated in Choices Matter’s interactive and riveting presentation series. One student shared this message:

“Hi, Steve! I am one of the kids from the school you were at today and I just wanted to thank you for your time. Your perspective is very inspirational, especially with the things I’ve been going through–I really needed that. You’re such a strong individual and I appreciate people like you who are willing to go above and beyond for others; some people in this building probably really needed this today. Your story is beautiful despite the battle; thank you again.”

Erin

Mrs. Maine

Poland,

Maine

I just wanted entere One of the hest eresentations hady. The students were amazing and the speaker kept them engaged the entire time. One of the best presentations I have seen.
Thank you

Michael

Bangor,

Maine

Dear Steve,

Thank you for coming in to EHS and sharing your story.

Your story really inspired me to be more safe while driving. I hope you continue to have an amazing life

Kaylee

Student

Ellsworth High School

Ellsworth,

Maine

I just want to thank you and everyone involved in this program. Our students had such a powerful experience this morning. We are so thankful to have offered this program to our students.

Shelton High School

Shelton,

Connecticut

I was left without words. Truly amazing speech that I will not forget. I’ll see you on TV next year for the Olympics.

Thank you so much, your words were really inspiring and make me want to push myself further.

Thank you for your time and truly amazing wisdom spread to our school!

Thank you for sharing your story and inspiring our students to be their best selves!

Students

Ellsworth High School

Ellsworth,

Maine

Hi Hillari and Steve,
Sorry for the delay in this, but I wanted to send an incredibly heartfelt thank you from me and the rest of our students and staff here at Saint Bernard School for your presentation on Friday. There was an overwhelmingly positive response from our students, and I believe the message and lessons being taught to our students were invaluable.
Steve, as always, I am more than impressed with your ability to speak passionately and reach a group of young adults in need of guidance. We cannot thank you enough for your time on Friday, and I hope to see you again soon!
Good luck moving forward in your competition and training, and I look forward to seeing you in the Olympics!
One last thing, Steve, can you send me your address? The Athletic Booster Club here at SBS has a little something for you.
Thanks again and take care!

Jack

Athletic Director

Saint Bernard School

Montville,

Connecticut

I enjoyed the presentation because the words that Steve was saying were really meaningful and truthful because he was being honest about the true consequences of drinking and driving. I would suggest that somebody would see this presentation because it had a big impact because of the story, How truthful and meaningful the presentation was, and the overall lesson about drinking and driving. I Suggest glenholme gets a guest speaker who is someone different to discuss a new topic which would be about D.A.R.E. 1 can relate to the story that steve empt was telling because when my sister was in south Dakota she crashed and flipped atv off a big
hill and got seriously hurt.

Student

Glenholme School

Washington,

Connecticut

Steve on the Podcast

In this unforgettable episode of The Choices Matter Podcast, we sit down with Steve Emt, a featured speaker for the Choices Matter program and author of You D.E.C.I.D.E: A Six Step Action Plan to Becoming the Hero of Your Own Life.

A standout high school athlete, former West Point cadet, and UConn basketball walk-on, Steve’s future was bright — until one night in March 1995 when he chose to drive home drunk and crashed into a concrete abutment. He awoke from a coma to discover he was paralyzed from the waist down.

Now a Team USA Paralympic curler and motivational force, Steve uses his story to inspire students across the country to make better decisions behind the wheel and in life. With honesty, energy, and purpose, Steve reminds us that while we can’t always undo our past, we can take control of our future — one choice at a time.

Steve Emt Trailer

Steve Emt knows what it means to face life-altering choices — and rise above them. Once a star athlete who thought he was invincible, a drunk driving crash at 25 changed his life forever, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. But Steve refused to let that be the end of his story. He rebuilt his life, discovered adaptive sports, and went on to become a Paralympian, U.S. National Champion, and world-class motivational speaker. Today, he inspires audiences nationwide to take ownership of their choices, overcome adversity, and become the hero of their own story.