LOCAL GRAD'S CHALLENGE

‘Get back up the best way you can’: U.Md. grad delivers commencement speech on facing paralysis

John Domen, WTOP

Goucher College freshman Damon Brooks was days away from turning 19 when a wrestling accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Brooks, now 30, landed head first when another student grabbed him and threw him. The head trauma from the 2012 accident affected his memory and focus, as well.

While what happened shaped his life in ways he never expected, it didn’t stop him from crossing the stage on Monday, graduating from the University of Maryland’s journalism school.

Chosen by his peers, Brooks gave the student speech at the commencement ceremony, which started and ended with a standing ovation.

“I haven’t cried yet, but I feel it FINISH READING HERE

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