By Bianca Strzelczyk

Asked to be introduced as a “pain in the ass,” Erin Brockovich was greeted with applause as she walked across the Blackman Auditorium stage to the podium wearing a black minidress, stiletto boots and a bright smile Monday night. This event, co-sponsored by the Council for University Programs (CUP) and Panhellenic Council, was part of Greek Week.

“It’s a hell of a town,” Brockovich said of Boston in her opening, “You’re all very lucky to live here.”

She began her lecture by saying she wanted to offer students something, share ideas and tell her story.

“Every person, no matter what walk of life, can succeed if they believe they can,” she said.

Brockovich grew up with a learning disability and was used to being the underdog. In high school she was voted least likely to succeed, but she didn’t let it stop her, she said.

“I have never worked or lived inside the box,” she said.

Brockovich returned from Indonesia Thursday from a United Nations Environmental Program Summit. She said she is an environmentalist, but made sure to say she is not the typical “tree-hugger.”

“I talk about creating awareness,” she said. “[I] talk about the truth; talk about a person’s right to know.”

She went on to tell the audience a code of ethics should be a vital part of their lives, and is in part what made her so successful. She also said she believes life is greatly based on faith, but it is up to individuals to choose how they react to faith.

“I was an ordinary person placed in extraordinary circumstances,” she said.

Throughout the lecture, Brockovich stressed the importance of perseverance and determination, pausing every now and then to tell an anecdote about herself and her family, to whom she gives much credit for her success. Brockovich often made the audience laugh with her bluntness and down-to-earth qualities.

“It was awesome,” said Chelsea McLaughlin, a freshman music industry major. “She was very direct with what she said.”

Having been on the lecture circuit for the past four years, Brockovich has talked to many universities, large corporations, summit and leadership conferences and women’s groups.

“It’s been very successful,” she said, “and I’m very honored, privileged and flattered.”

She said she enjoys talking to universities most because of the students’ liveliness, desire to get involved and tendency to ask a lot of questions.

“They are motivated and opinionated,” she said. “And they don’t necessarily have their mind set. They are generally a lot of fun.”

Brockovich’s ideas may have been things students had heard before, but Alex Micaud, a sophomore psychology major, said it was nice to have them reinforced.

“I