How I Came Back to Life, to Live It Fully

On June 13, 2025, Erik Fradet, a Master in Management student, walks onto the HEC Paris graduation stage. That day, he isn’t just celebrating the end of a program — he’s celebrating his return to life. Through the ordeal he endured, his story offers a powerful lesson in optimism and humanity.

At the podium, wearing his graduation gown, standing before more than 3,000 people — his family, classmates from the Master Entrepreneurs major, Grande École and other programs, and their families — Erik stands where no one expected him to be five years earlier, when everything changed.

"Life… I almost lost it." At 20, Erik had just started at HEC Paris, full of energy and hope for the future. He never imagined that just a few months later, it would all fall apart. On the night of March 11, 2020, he fell down a staircase on campus. Brain trauma. Deep coma. And then… nothing.

The next day, the world shut down — COVID, lockdown, hospitals closed to visitors. Erik was alone, trapped in a body that no longer responded. He could no longer speak or move. Only his eyes still moved. "I was a prisoner in my own body."

For nine months, his life hung by a thread — no sound, no movement, no visible sign of hope. 

The doctors had lost hope. Erik hadn’t. “Little by little, the spark of life started to come back.”

Moving a finger. Swallowing. Whispering a word. Each small step forward was a victory — and a step back toward life. “Inside, I was alive. And determined.” 

A miracle? Perhaps. But one made possible by incredible determination, the unwavering love of his family and friends who never stopped believing, and a surgeon who chose to operate on him that night — despite the odds.

He had to relearn how to breathe, speak, walk, write. "I just had such a thirst for life — I wanted to live it at 200%."

A year and a half after the accident, he returned to campus to resume his studies. Two years later, he went on exchange to Singapore. Then came a Half Ironman. And on June 13, 2025, he stood on stage — upright — to receive his Master’s degree in Management, Entrepreneurship major.

Beyond the medical and family circle, Erik could also count on the entire HEC community — quiet but constant in its support.

When he returned to campus, it wasn’t anonymously. He was admired, recognized, and supported. In his graduation speech, he named — with emotion — the teachers, staff, classmates, and the Dean who had accompanied him.

"In the hardest moments, I truly discovered what values like solidarity and mutual support mean — values that define HEC. This school is not just a place to learn. It’s a network of people who rally when one of their own falls. I’m deeply grateful."

From this journey, Erik wrote a book: From Darkness to Light — as both a part of his healing and a desire to pass on what he learned.

To anyone — at HEC or elsewhere — who is doubting, or wondering how to get back up after life knocks them down, Erik shares a few life lessons:

• Rely on your loved ones: they’re often the ones standing when you can’t.

• Be patient and persistent: every small step is a step toward freedom.

• Hold on to hope and willpower: to believe is already to act.

• Embrace difference — your own, and others’. It’s not a burden; it’s a strength.

Erik Fradet's speech during the HEC Paris 2025 graduation ceremony

By showing that we can overcome the unthinkable when we are driven by purpose and carried by support, Erik’s story becomes a call to action — an antidote to resignation or despair.

What if the most powerful resource we have... is simply believing in ourselves?