Since falling in love with the drums at age six, Mitch Dorge has travelled the world as the drummer for the Canadian band, the Crash Test Dummies, earned Grammy nominations and Juno Awards, played Saturday Night Live, and partied with Adam Sandler.
Despite all of this, however, he says, “I am quite possibly one of the happiest guys you'll ever meet, and that is my real claim to fame.”
On March 15, he brought his unique philosophy to Notre Dame High School for an energetic and often amusing presentation on the dangers of drinking and driving, the importance of making up your own mind, and chasing the things that matter.
His approach to the topic was radically different than most presentations on the subject, and he explained before he began, “I don't want to be tragic, I don't want to be preachy.”
He had audience members crying with laughter as he and some hapless volunteers worked together to create positive energy, and after successfully convincing many of the high schoolers to abandon their dignity and participate in his crazy schemes, he said, “Just about everybody in the room had a smile on their face, at their expense, but it was still a smile. And most importantly, nobody had to be drunk or high to do so.
“You guys, by now, have had about a million people talking at you about the alcohol issue and if I was you, I'd be bored to tears,” he told students. “So let me put it to you this way: I think you have been lied to. I think people have been lying to you and using scare tactics and I am not here to scare you and I don't want to lie to you.
“Rather than try to scare you or lie to you, I would like to try and appeal to your intelligence. Everyone in this room is an extremely intelligent person, regardless of what you think of yourself. I know for a fact that if I sat with any one of you and talked to you about your ideas and opinions on things, you guys would educate me on some level.”
He gave students tools to research the potential outcomes of drinking and driving, telling them where and how to find personal accounts of the dangers involved.
Then he told them, “Make up your own minds. Read them, as many as you can. There are hundreds of thousands of them out there. And after you've read them, you'll see that there are all kinds of potential outcomes, and you can decide what you want to risk for yourself.”
Not everyone who chooses to drink and drive will suffer grave consequences, he added. “Plenty of people drink and drive, plenty of people make it home. Many people get involved in a serious way with drugs, and plenty of people come out OK. My problem is, what happens if you're the one who doesn't? Or what happens if someone who is affected by it manages to change your life drastically?”
Sometimes things can go wrong even when you do everything right, he said. To illustrate his point, he told the story of 20-year-old Jacqui Saburido, who was being driven home from a party by a designated driver when her vehicle was struck by another driver who was intoxicated. Two of her friends were killed and she was badly burned and disfigured.
Dorge said the public tends to blame today's youth for these situations.
“You guys are not the problem. You guys are the salvation for the rest of the planet. You guys are going to change the world. I am just trying to put things in perspective so that someone else doesn't change your destiny.”
He gave out postcards, both with links to Saburido's story and his email address, inviting anyone who had any ideas on the problem of drinking and driving or personal stories they wanted to share to email him.
“You guys are smart, you get the point. Anything we can do to stop somebody else from changing our life from what it is supposed to be, is worth doing.”
Dorge has also given presentations on drugs, teen pregnancy, and fire safety, among other things, all of them with his unique approach.
“Nobody is doing what I do the way that I do it. We've created monsters. If you've been there, or you've hurt somebody, or been hurt by somebody, I think that's enough. I don't think you need to stand up in front of people,” he said after the presentation.
“Secondly, I think a lot of these kids have heard the story time and again, and when someone comes in and tells them that they are going to die or kill somebody, they just look at you like they don't believe you.
“So I get out there and I do it in a non-lying, non-scary way, and I see the light bulbs go on and the eyes get big, and that is just so cool. I never had that when I was a kid, I just had people telling me I was going to die.”
Students tend to have a strong reaction to Dorge's presentations, he added.
“Sometimes as I'm leaving the school, I'm already getting emails,” he said. “It sets me on fire and I get to share what I do because I want them to have the inspiration to chase something.”
That, he said, is the most essential part of his message.
“I really hope, honestly, that everyone in this room gets to attain whatever their dream is,” he said when wrapping up his presentation. “Now is the time to go after it. Don't take any prisoners, chase everything you want in life. There is no greater joy than going through life doing exactly what you want to do.
“Figure out what you would like to go for in life and chase it with everything that you have.”
