Ethan A. Poetic built a career around telling his story. The Lancaster-based author and public speaker visits schools and community events to discuss resilience, education, and the importance of helping others overcome adversity.

Fifteen years ago, his circumstances were very different. After surviving a deadly car crash in March 2011, where his chance of survival was 1 %, Ethan faced months of physical recovery, followed by years of rebuilding his independence and finding his way forward.

Today, he is a two-time college graduate and published author who has turned his experiences into opportunities to connect with others. His accomplishments have earned him recognition from educational institutions and community organizations, but he is quick to acknowledge the people who helped him get there.

“Some people see something in you that you may not see,” Ethan said during an interview with Impacto.

For Ethan, those people included therapists, teachers, coaches and community members who encouraged him during some of the most difficult periods of his life. Their support shaped his recovery and continues to influence the work he does today.

The work of starting over

After the devastating car crash, Ethan spent about a month in the hospital and another in rehabilitation, where he struggled with tasks as basic as walking or picking up a beanbag. The occupational and speech therapists who worked with him were strangers, but he remembers how they pushed him beyond what he thought he could accomplish.

“They wanted more out of me than what I was already settling for,” he said.

Visitors came from his church community along with people in his circle who had heard about his condition.

“Some people I knew. Some people didn’t know,” he recalled. Others were total strangers who stepped up to help him have a semi-normal life. They helped him obtain his driver’s license and eventually a car, giving him greater independence as he continued rebuilding his life.

Alongside his recovery, there was plenty of grief to process. Ethan said he spent years struggling with survivor’s guilt after two people died in the collision. Their funerals took place while he was hospitalized, leaving him without the opportunity to say goodbye.

“I didn’t get the proper closure for the two people who passed away in the crash,” he said. “I was incapable of being there and being present.”

Understanding that moment helped him recognize why the grief kept returning. It also allowed him to relate to others who experienced loss without the opportunity for closure.

“The best thing I could have done for myself is continuing to take one day at a time,” he said.

Education and the people who believed in him

Growing up in Coatesville, Ethan played football, basketball, track and wrestling. He also attended school under an individualized education program, or IEP, and felt that some adults underestimated his abilities.

“I was not dumb at all. I was always smart, but college presented new challenges, particularly in mathematics,” he said.

Rather than accepting defeat, Ethan sought help from professors and tutors, eventually passing two math courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I became better at math by being around people who were better than me,” he explained. “Let’s not be victims. Let’s be victors.” With this mentality, Ethan earned an associate degree from HACC and a bachelor’s degree from Millersville University, all while working two jobs.

In 2026, Millersville recognized him with a Young Alumni Achievement Award. A former track coach accompanied him to receive the recognition, and Ethan later visited other coaches to share the moment.

Those relationships are reminders of the people who invested in him long before he became a public speaker.

Speaking on his own terms

Before public speaking became a career, Ethan spent time writing poetry and working on his first book. He initially imagined completing his education and continuing with his life without repeatedly revisiting the crash.

“I wasn’t planning on speaking about it,” he said.

During his recovery, an acquaintance invited him to a camp outside Lancaster. Ethan expected to relax and play video games, but the organizer surprised him with a request to address a group of teenagers around a campfire. He had five minutes to prepare.

“I needed some alone time because I just wasn’t used to speaking about something so traumatic,” Ethan recalled.

The experience stayed with him. Over time, he began to recognize that the people encouraging him saw opportunities he had not yet imagined.

His public profile grew in 2021 through newspaper coverage, television appearances and a commencement address. He began developing speaking into a professional business and published an autobiography in 2022.

Ethan remembers how children he worked with in schools responded when they recognized him from television. They approached him for hugs and invited him to all kinds of gatherings.

He came to understand that giving young people attention and encouragement could have an impact beyond the stories he shared onstage.

“When I speak now, it’s just second nature,” he said. “I already know how to read the room.”

A legacy from Puerto Rico

Ethan’s commitment to helping others also has roots in his family history. His late grandfather, Benito Rivera, came from Maunabo, Puerto Rico, and later settled in Delaware.

Ethan recalled how Benito owned a bar and restaurant, invested in properties, and helped families relocating from Puerto Rico by providing temporary housing while they got back on their feet.

That generosity left an impression on Ethan, who identifies as Puerto Rican through his father’s family and has African ancestry through his mother’s.

Around the time of his Millersville graduation, Ethan posed for a photograph beside a Puerto Rican flag. He recalled the enthusiastic response it received online, particularly from people who saw someone sharing their heritage celebrating an important achievement.

For Ethan, honoring that heritage also means helping others find opportunities and access the support they need.

“You deserve to make an honest living,” he said. “You deserve to be treated fairly and equally.”

“That is part of my heritage, that is part of my legacy.”

Fifteen years later

Ethan is working on a second book that he hopes to publish in 2027. He also wants to reach larger audiences, continue expanding his business, and eventually become a homeowner.

“Hopefully my new book will impact more people’s lives,” he said. “Because it’s bigger than me now.”

Throughout the interview, Ethan returned to the people who helped him: therapists who challenged him, tutors who shared their knowledge, coaches who believed in his abilities and community members who offered support.

“I didn’t get here by myself,” he said.

Fifteen years later, Ethan hopes the opportunities he has created for himself will continue to allow him to offer that same encouragement to others.