Every 15 Minutes has made its mark as one of the most impactful events at Cal.

As students filed into the Event Center on March 25, a slide show of pictures and obituaries for the students who died earlier played in the background.

Loved ones sat in the middle of the room, waiting for the service to begin.

Cal’s resource officer Tami Williams of the San Ramon Police Department began by reading information regarding the purpose of the Every 15 Minutes program.

“In the mid 1990s, in our country every 15 minutes someone is seriously injured or killed in an alcohol related collision… and because of students like you, that stat is improving, but our work’s not done,” said Williams.

Next, a video featuring Cal seniors McKenna Gin, Noah Bergman, Nicole Price, Nick Allman, Jordan Farrell, Hunter Witty, and junior Sophie Burke, showed a possible tragedy, which became the focus of the assembly.

The latter four were seen partying and getting into their car to buy more alcohol with Farrell behind the wheel. Gin, Bergman, and Price went for a drive and crashed with Farrell’s car.

“The video was the most impactful because it was a real situation that could actually occur,” said freshman Kolton Visnor.

The video also showed the injuries sustained by each victim.

“The video was the deepest part and the most realistic,” said sophomore Sydney Larsen.  “It showed what effect [drunk driving] had on everyone’s life and how drastic it could be.”

In the video, Gin was rushed to the hospital. Her parents were later informed of her death and seen in the waiting room sobbing. Later, Gin’s younger brother was shown dropping to the ground in tears upon hearing about his sister’s death.

Burke, Witty, and Bergman died at the scene, while Allman was paralyzed from the waist down.  Farrell was arrested at the scene and booked in the county jail where he was charged with vehicular manslaughter.

“At first I thought it went too far, but after the assembly I saw how much it affected everybody,” said sophomore Nicole Haddad.

Equally as poignant was the poem that Gin read to her family after the video.

“Tell my brother not to cry, Mom, tell daddy to be brave, and when I get to heaven, Mom, write daddy’s girl on my grave,” Gin read.

Guest speaker Dave Goddard then spoke about his 17-year-old son David Keith Goddard Jr., who died in a drunk driving accident a few years ago.

“He was one of the greatest gifts of my life,” said Goddard.  “Someone I loved to laugh with, someone I loved to hang out with, someone I loved to talk to, and on November 22, 2011 he passed away at the scene after he made the bad decision to drive home from a party where he had been drinking.”

Although it was a difficult, emotional message for everyone, Goddard spoke inspiring words to all of the students.

“Sometimes friends need to watch out for friends, when they can’t or won’t watch out for themselves, and when they think it won’t happen to them, so watch out for each other,” said Goddard. “The price is way too high not to…. If you drink and need a ride, call someone, call a friend, call a cab, or call your parents, and don’t think for a minute that this can’t happen to you, if you are, you’re wrong,” said Goddard.

Many felt that this was the most powerful message of the entire event.

Science teacher Douglas Mason said that Goddard’s heartfelt speech was especially touching because of its authenticity.

Other emotional speeches from junior Alisa Lego, the father of Burke, and the mother of sophomore Adrian Hoeke also affected the people in the room tremendously.

“The assembly was really impactful because everyone’s speeches were really powerful,” said Haddad.

Farrell, the drunk driver, also gave a speech on what went through his mind after realizing the severity of what he had done.

Every 15 Minutes hopes that their program will steer teens in the right direction, and make the right choices so they, and everyone around them, will not make the decision to drink and drive.

“I think it’s very powerful and a lot of the students I had seemed to have heard the message,” said Mason.