Manhasset High School Graduate
Authors Forthcoming Book
In 1967, the war in Viet Nam was reaching its height, and the 60s were in full swing. Long Island produced its own military heroes, but also another type of hero—those who went on to positively change the lives of others. These heroes are people you may know.
Manhasset, NY — May 10, 2014
While a high school student and lacrosse player at Manhasset High School, Eric Rieseberg was advised to pursue a trade rather than go to college. Eight years later, at age twenty-six, he became the youngest hospital CEO of a community hospital in America. How? Eric sums it up in one word: “heroes.” His up-and-coming book, Heroes Alongside Us, is both a tribute to the men who were the key to his success and a case for the crucial role of heroes in our everyday lives. In the book it is emphasized that there is hope for all by working with and seeking out guidance from the best of the best. This is a story of noble men accomplishing great things and success in life …on and off the lacrosse field.
In Heroes Alongside Us, Rieseberg shares how the noble acts of heroes make success possible against the odds, using his own story as an example. A 1967 Manhasset High graduate, he grew up with difficult family circumstances: something not shared often in tony Long Island. His military dad was rarely present and his mom suffered from alcoholism and mental illness.
The odds were also stacked against him when it came to academics. Rieseberg shares, “I was certainly not an academic high achiever—not by any definition. I’d had a poor foundation from moving all over the world as a child of a Navy Captain: By the time I reached high school, I’d attended seven different schools. My parents never saw an A on my report card. I simply wasn’t an academic kid and didn’t apply myself.” He continued, “In fact, when I was in high school, my parents had a meeting with my guidance counselor. She told my parents I wasn’t living up to my potential and that I should consider being a welder.”
As it turned out, by the time he was thirty-two years old, Eric had been a hospital CEO of three large hospitals in the United States. By the time he was thirty-four, he was managing twenty hospitals.
How does a chubby, never-got-picked-for-any-team, sub-par student from a dysfunctional family end up achieving more success than anyone would have expected? He attributes these accomplishments to people who are well known to all of Long Islands and the national lacrosse scene, Richie Moran and Renzie Lamb both NCAA Division I lacrosse coaches. In the book we examine their views and secrets of winning lacrosse games and success in life. “I couldn’t have done it without my heroes,” Rieseberg says. “My heroes were the key to my success, and thousands of people more, and a big part of the reason I’m writing this book.”
Heroes Alongside Us will be available this summer on Amazon.