In a truly special moment from the Georgetown University graduation over the weekend, former college football player Ty Williams was able to walk across the stage to accept his diploma.
Williams, in a wheelchair after suffering a neck injury during a game in 2015, brought himself up with the help of a brace and a walker to take his first steps in two and a half years during the ceremony.
A moment we will never forget: @HoyasFB senior Ty Williams, who suffered a spinal chord injury in a game in September 2015, walks for the first time in 2.5 years at @Georgetown's graduation on Saturday where he earned his degree in government. #HoyaSaxa pic.twitter.com/VKOh8bFOmr
— Georgetown Hoyas (@GeorgetownHoyas) May 19, 2018
According to a profile in the Washington Post, Williams was a junior linebacker when a collision in the end zone with an opposing tight end resulted in a fractured vertebrae that left partial feeling in his lower body but not the ability to will it to movement.
The prognosis from doctors was not good but he remained a part of the Georgetown football team, on the roster and present during team activities. Last summer he was the keynote speaker at his former high school for graduation ceremonies, and this year the self-determination he spoke of was on display at the Georgetown graduation.
After suffering a neck injury in a 2015 football game, Ty Williams (C’18) promised he would walk across the stage at graduation. Today, he fulfilled that promise. @Georgetown @GeorgetownHoyas #Hoyas2018 #werenotcryingyourecrying pic.twitter.com/wTlDNzsDLD
— Georgetown College (@GeorgetownColl) May 19, 2018
