Testimonials
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Email from Students
- “Amazing show tonight at Del Val College!!! I LOVE every bit of it - especially the spoken piece about 'Ray', and the last poem... (What's the title of your last poem?). I felt my heart going through a roller coaster ride when I was listening to your poems, absolutely beautiful.”
- “I wanted to let you know that I was extremely moved by your lecture. You are truly an amazing woman and I feel so lucky to have shaken your hand. You are so strong. I could never imagine, ever, having the life that you've lived and yet still remain positive. You are an inspiration.”
- “A while back, almost two months ago you came to Wheelock College's orientation and I LOVED IT. I also wanted to let you know that it was amazing to hear you be sooo open!”
- “My BF and I saw you at The Jazz Gallery last night. You are absolutely fabulous! We so enjoyed your performance! You made me blush, laugh, giggle and cry all within seconds apart.Thank you sooooooooooo much for sharing!”
- “I am a student at Coastal Carolina U and I just wanted to let you knowhow fantastic you are and how much I absolutely ADORED coming to Sexed tonight! I was sexually abused as a child and although I have dealt with it and am okay now, I've never seen anyone be so open and frank about sexual assault. It made me feel very comfortable! And the whole lecture was terrific...I think humor makes it easier to handle for people who are normally uncomfortable with talking about sex and/or anything which is normally "hush-hush" in conversation. I can't even put into words how glad I am that I got to see you! I just wanted to let you know what a difference you make!”
- “I just wanted to write and say that I really enjoyed your presentation this week at Raratin Valley. You did such a great job! I was laughing so hard and didn't stop!! I think you have a very great program and a great message!”
- “I was at your conference this morning at Marist College. I just would like to tell you how amazing you are. After all you have suffered from you still enjoy the life. You have so much courage. I hope the rest of your life will bring you everything that you want, you deserve it!”
- “i was part of the audience tonight when you spoke atbrookdale. you're hilarious but moving and serious at the same time. you really affected me especially atthe end when you told us when you found out you were HIV+. i think i've stereotyped the victims of HIV/AIDS as always acting and feeling sober and victimized,even though i vaguely knew they were human beings who walk and talk and laugh just like we do. you've showedme how ridiculous it is to judge someone's backgroundor previous actions, whether they regret them or not. i come from a conservative church and a typical asianfamily, but you're a saint in my eyes. your presentation was not too scandalous. in fact, there needs to be more honest dialogue between and among people of all backgrounds. we wouldn't treat each other so much like shit if we did.”
- “I was one of the nursing students in the audience at Jefferson University in Philadelphia. I loved your speech and I could completely relate to everything you were saying!”
- “I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the show and that it had a huge impact in my view of life, things and people. Thank you very much for speaking up!
- “I’m a student at Western Washington University and I had a blast at your seminar sex 101! I wanted to thank you for the information and inspiration you conveyed to all of us.”
- “I just got home from listening to your Sex 101 lecture at Western Washington University and I would like to thank you for everything that your presentation gave to me and many other members of the audience. Itmade me laugh, it gave me knowledge, it made me think and it gave mea more optimistic outlook on life. We only live one life; we need to make the most of it. You truly are an inspiration to me and I am soglad that I got the opportunity to hear you speak (I actually didn’t get tickets to the show early and when I got to the box office itsold out. I wanted to see you so bad that I stood outside and bought tickets off of some scalpers—and it was worth every penny). Anyways,I wish you a wonderful life and hope for the sake of people everywhere that you stay well and keep speaking about topics thatotherwise would be left untouched. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!”
- “My Name is Von Marie and I just watched you perform at Salem State College last night! (I was front row, giving you ideas on shows,and I had the red hair and freckles? ) I just wanted to say that you were great! you were funny,informative, and very inspirational. Thank you again and I will make sure to keep up w/what you're up to!”
- I wanted to stay after and talk to you, basically just to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.I have experienced some of the things that you spoke about and you really touched me and no one has ever been able to, it feels amazing to know there is someone out there similar to you and you're not alone.
- I saw you at my school, Brock, a couple days ago, and just wanted to say thank you. I have herpes, and have had a hard time accepting it. When I first sat down, I was afraid your show would make me feel more uncomfortable by making typical jokes about it, but as the show went on, I began to feel better. Thank you so much for being so honest about your personal life. I feel very passionate about changing society's views on STD's from a joke into reality, and you are definitely helping that cause. You are a huge inspiration to me. Thank you!
- Hey River. I just wanted to say that you did an excellent job at Brock University! I keep telling all my friends that aren't here about what they missed out on! Your presentation made my day, it was hilarious. Keep up the amazing work!
- I was at your performance at Wheelock College last Saturday night. I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed it. You have an amazing ability to use humor while speaking about difficult issues and telling your own story. I didn't make the smartest decisions about sex and respecting myself as a teenager. I decided a while ago that the next man I was with would be someone I cared about and who cared for me too. That was a couple years ago and I still haven't found the right guy yet. I have been very self-concious about my decisions-sometimes it feels like I'm the only one not partying and having sex all the time. But hearing you speak made me feel like I am making the right choices for myself. Thank you for sharing your story!
Emails from College and University Faculty
- I wanted to sincerely thank you for your presentation to Wells College. I thoroughly enjoyed it andthe students that attended gave me very positive feedback. I really admire and respect your realistic and funny approach to sex education, I think it was the perfect fit for Wells. I also wanted to thank you for your flexibility and patience with us, we were not very organized about the event set up and I apologize fir that but you handled it beautifully.
- I really enjoyed spending time with you before and after the show, including dinner on Wednesday night. You are an amazing person and I’m so glad that we had the opportunity to have you share your story with us all. Above all, you are very easy to work with which is so nice! I hope that we might be able to work out a return visit for sometime next year.
Letters of recommendation
In our evaluations of her presentation, many recommend her to come back and to utilize Ms. Huston as a source of 'how to survive a weekend.' She uses this (and many other show stopping material) as a tool to get the discussion moving and is more interactive then lecture oriented. This style welcomes dialogue amongst the students in her workshops, while increasing the awareness of issues and potential solutions. Her humor is sprinkled at every corner, to lighten the consequences, while sending the real message of appropriate decision making and accountability being with the student (athlete/resident).
Our search committee highly recommends her to speak about these challenges facing our college communities. She gives options to the student population to lessen the risk factors that they deal with daily, while respecting the student’s fierce need for independent living. She is a strong advocate in educating youth through various snippets of life experiences she and/or others have had to make the topic personal and real.
We would recommend her highly as a speaker for this material on college campuses. Please contact me for further questions, if necessary.
Sincerely,
Terry Wansart
Director of Athletics
Hunter College
212-772-4783
It is a great pleasure to write this recommendation for River Huston. River has presented her program, “Surviving The Weekend” at Saint Michael's College each of the last two fall semesters as part of our “Got S.K.I.L.L.S.” program for Dignity and Diversity.
Both presentations were energetic, engaging, and most importantly informative. Her presentations covered some very personal and sensitive issues such as alcohol use, HIV/AIDS, decision-making, and forgiveness in a “down to earth” and meaningful way for our students. She even spent time after the program having dinner with a group of students on campus and continuing the discussion about these important issues. She made a personal connection with many of our students, and to quote an email I received from a colleague after last year’s event,
“Students had a chance to ask questions at the end of each program (and many did)… and many students stayed after each presentation to talk to River. In fact, in both programs, River mentioned her website/email address and her facebook page. Later in the evening, when she had to check something on the internet from her iphone, she had already been requested to be “friended” by 100+ students.”
As the coordinator of these events, I had the opportunity to work closely with River before, during, and after the events. She is very easy to work with, and adapted her presentation to work within certain parameters on our campus including both content and space limitations. Unfortunately due to renovations on campus, we are unable to have River join us this fall, but we hope to have her back to Saint Michael’s again in 2010.
River has my strongest recommendation as a speaker for any campus. Her presentation is excellent and I know that other students will benefit from her work, just as our students did. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (802) 654-2207.
Sincerely,
Brian Lee
Associate Director of Residence Life
Our search committee highly recommends her to speak about these challenges facing our college communities. She gives options to the student population to lessen the risk factors that they deal with daily, while respecting the student’s fierce need for independent living. She is a strong advocate in educating youth through various snippets of life experiences she and/or others have had to make the topic personal and real.
We would recommend her highly as a speaker for this material on college campuses. Please contact me for further questions, if necessary.
Sincerely,
Terry Wansart
Director of Athletics
Hunter College
212-772-4783
It is a great pleasure to write this recommendation for River Huston. River has presented her program, “Surviving The Weekend” at Saint Michael's College each of the last two fall semesters as part of our “Got S.K.I.L.L.S.” program for Dignity and Diversity.
Both presentations were energetic, engaging, and most importantly informative. Her presentations covered some very personal and sensitive issues such as alcohol use, HIV/AIDS, decision-making, and forgiveness in a “down to earth” and meaningful way for our students. She even spent time after the program having dinner with a group of students on campus and continuing the discussion about these important issues. She made a personal connection with many of our students, and to quote an email I received from a colleague after last year’s event,
“Students had a chance to ask questions at the end of each program (and many did)… and many students stayed after each presentation to talk to River. In fact, in both programs, River mentioned her website/email address and her facebook page. Later in the evening, when she had to check something on the internet from her iphone, she had already been requested to be “friended” by 100+ students.”
As the coordinator of these events, I had the opportunity to work closely with River before, during, and after the events. She is very easy to work with, and adapted her presentation to work within certain parameters on our campus including both content and space limitations. Unfortunately due to renovations on campus, we are unable to have River join us this fall, but we hope to have her back to Saint Michael’s again in 2010.
River has my strongest recommendation as a speaker for any campus. Her presentation is excellent and I know that other students will benefit from her work, just as our students did. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (802) 654-2207.
Sincerely,
Brian Lee
Associate Director of Residence Life