June 12, 1998 became a day Sarah Jackson would never forget: A fifteen-year-old student at the time, Sarah climbed into a car with an underage, drinking driver. The driver lost control and crashed. Sarah Jackson lay comatose for three weeks and, upon her regaining consciousness, underwent five months of rehabilitation. She suffers a traumatic brain injury that she must cope with everyday, and she lives with the emotional scars from that night she almost died. The realization that she had barely escaped death -- or living in a vegetative state for rest of her entire life -- instigated a life-altering reappraisal of her life. Sarah has taken what she experienced and transformed her life and that of others through her work for her community, combating the problem of underage drinking, drug abuse, and driving under the influence.
Toward this goal, Sarah has given untold hours of her time to numerous organizations, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Students Against Destructive Decisions, the National Organization for Youth Safety, and the National Student Safety. Additionally, Sarah began speaking to and with high school assemblies throughout Vermont, explaining the dangers of substance abuse and driving under the influence. Her work has taken her far from Vermont as well, as she has addressed audiences as far away as San Antonio, Texas. Somehow, Sarah has found the time to contribute to the Everybody Wins! Program, serving as mentor and teacher at Mary Hogan Elementary School in Middlebury, Vermont. She has volunteered as teacher-mentor at the Shoreham Elementary School in Shoreham, Vermont, as well. Poignantly, Sarah’s narrative guides young people through a devastating ordeal they couldn’t otherwise imagine:
-Accepting and living with brain injury
-The grueling hospital stay and rehabilitation process
-Relearning basic motor skills (tying a shoe, buttoning pants, holding silverware)
-Facing the challenges of resuming school and social life
-Dealing with emotional weight of reintegrating into a small community in the presence of the unremorseful driver
What strikes her audiences the most concerns how many of her friends treated effectively abandoned her or otherwise treated her poorly after the accident. But the same audiences find it moving to witness Sarah’s strength, bravery, inspiration, and willingness to reach others. Sarah has become a role model for all people via her lessons imparted and her courage to struggle through the aftermath of devastating injuries.
At the behest of the Governor of Vermont, Sarah worked on the Vermont Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council to address the problems of substance abuse and driving under the influence. She has represented her community on a state level, helping formulate intervention, prevention, and treatment strategies. Sarah has also devoted herself to the Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program, a student program that addresses issues including peer pressure, underage drinking, underage smoking, and unsafe driving. And Sarah continues speaking before students, most recently through membership in Community College of Vermont’s Student Advisory Board and representation of the Middlebury campus of Community College of Vermont.
When speaking before student audiences and anti-substance abuse organizations, Sarah gives nothing but the straight talk, while talking straight to the heart. Apparently, Sarah’s efforts have had an impact: In 1998, the year Sarah suffered the car accident, Vermont ranked number one in the nation in alcohol- related deaths per capita. Vermont now ranks third to the last, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. A young woman now wise beyond her years, Sarah not only works through her enduring injuries, but also transforms the traumatic experience into one through which she makes a difference in her community. She has increased the public awareness of the deadly combination of substance abuse and driving, helped formulate statewide responses. Above all, Sarah Jackson has helped save untold numbers of lives, young and old.
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