Michael Gershe wanted to be a stand-up comedian.

He gets audiences laughing when he's up on stage. But his purpose is hardly laughable.

He talks about the consequences of excessive drinking with college students. It killed his mother and nearly took his own life 36 years ago.

Gershe spoke to University of Mary students Thursday morning. The university is heading into Homecoming weekend, and he wanted the students to think of the consequences of their actions.

His father was stopped at an intersection when a drunken driver their car at 60 mph. His 3-year-old brother was in the back seat and he was in his mother's arms, as he was 8 weeks old. They couldn't find him at first because he was between the door and dashboard. Nearly every bone in his body was broken.

"These are the risks you guys take," he said. "You're thinking about having a good time."

The risks can include death, rape and unintended pregnancies. While students might have laughed at the male student on stage holding a sign pulled from an envelope that said "pregnant," Gershe was serious about the the connection.

He has worked in higher education with students for 12 years, and has seen students end up dead, raped or pregnant because alcohol was involved, he said.

Students can end up in these situations because of peer pressure. People do things to fit in that are contrary to who they are, he said. But Gershe contends it shouldn't matter if students drink.

"The hardest thing you have to do is be yourself," he said.

Consequences can be less severe than the worst-case scenarios. Some professions won't accept applicants who have DUI or drug possession charges, such as pilots and police officers.

It's about making good decisions, he said. The money students spend on drinking could be used in other ways, he said.

Gershe speaks to students about excessive drinking as a legacy to his mother and a good friend of his who died in a drunken driving accident.