Last October, CHS hosted the Missouri Attorney General debate with Chris Koster and Michael Gibbons. This fall, Koster has come back as elected Missouri Attorney General.

On Monday September 14, Koster talked to the freshman and sophomore classes at an assembly about drunk driving. He then introduced Brandon Silveria.

At 17 years old, Silveria was in a car crash while drinking and driving. He suffered severe head injuries, and was in a coma for three months and then spent several years in rehabilitation. He had to relearn how to do everything from talking to walking to eating.

“In 2008, 1,697 youth aged 12-20 were killed in alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities across the country,” Attorney General Koster said. “It is important we continue in our efforts to stop drunk driving and underage drinking. We must do more to keep our nation’s roadways safe and alcohol-free. I am proud to have Brandon and Tony Silveria with us today to communicate their life-saving message.”

Silveria and his father Tony Silveria talked to the students about the real life consequences of drunk driving and underage drinking.

In Silveria’s moving speech, he stresses the point that teens do have a choice. They have a choice whether or not to drink, a choice to drive home instead of call a parent, a choice to go that party.

“I had the world at my fingertips,” Silveria said. “It all changed with one stupid mistake.

The speech moved many students, and showed them how their choices affected themselves and the people around them.

“It made me realize how short life is,” sophomore Fergus Inder said. “And how a decision that we make right now can shape our lives and the lives of people around us.”

Silveria’s words moved many teens, and forced them to think before taking that beer.

“It was really touching,” sophomore Courtney Dickson said. “And I could see that it moved many people.”

After Silveria’s speech, Koster sat down with the American Government class to answer any of their questions.

When one student asked if he had ever met President Obama, Koster answered in a somewhat humorous way.

“I have met [Obama] two or three times in the last three months,” Koster said. “He is very cool. It’s like meeting a movie star. I’ve met several presidents, but he’s got like a George Clooney characteristic about him. When you’re around him it’s a little different than meeting like Bush or Clinton. He is a real movie star. It sounds strange, but he’s even better looking in person than he is on television.”

The students were able to ask questions in a comfortable environment and learn about Koster’s role as Attorney General and how he connects Missouri to the government in Washington, D.C.

Both Silveria and Koster brought new insights and information to students, and allowed them to take a step back and see the bigger picture.