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<\/a><\/p>\nView the video<\/a><\/strong>:\u00a0Travis Roy reflects on his life 20 years after a paralyzing injury and talks about what he sees for his future. Photo by Jackie Riccardi.<\/em><\/p>\n When Travis Roy heard he would receive an honorary degree at this year\u2019s Commencement ceremony, he had a\u00a0question for President Robert A. Brown.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first question\u2026was if there was a minimum age requirement, and was he sure I was old enough?\u201d says Roy, 41, who will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the 143rd Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 15. \u201cTruthfully, I was incredibly surprised. At the same time it gave me perspective on what I had done over the last 20 years, and it made me think that some of my accomplishments were more significant than I had realized.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1995, Roy (COM\u201900) was recruited to play on BU\u2019s defending national championship men\u2019s hockey team. But just 11 seconds into his first game, the freshman forward crashed headlong into the boards, shattering his fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae, severely damaging his spinal cord, and leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. Over the last 20 years, Roy has successfully led the Travis Roy Foundation<\/a>, which has raised more than $8 million to help those with spinal cord injuries lead independent lives by providing accessibility through wheelchairs, computers, and vehicle lifts. The foundation also funds research with the hope that it will lead to a cure.<\/p>\n Roy says he believes the honorary degree has \u201cas much to do with the people that have supported me and the work of the Travis Roy Foundation as it does for me alone.\u201d In a BU Today<\/em> story<\/a>\u00a0that coincided with the 20th anniversary of the accident in October, Roy said that when he started his foundation, he imagined a medical breakthrough would arrive within 10 years (he still hopes to go out of business one day). So far, the foundation has given $2.1 million to cutting-edge research focused on finding cures for spinal cord injuries.<\/p>\n Today, Roy leads a busy life as a motivational speaker, addressing a wide range of audiences, from Fortune 500 companies to high schools and youth groups. He has also testified before a US Senate hearing for the National Institutes of Health<\/a>\u00a0and spoken to the Massachusetts legislature in support of making the commonwealth a \u201cstem cell safe haven.\u201d In 1998, he published his autobiography,\u00a0Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage & Triumph<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(cowritten with Sports Illustrated<\/em> writer E. M. Swift).<\/p>\n Roy\u2019s hockey number, 24, has been retired by Boston University. At 2011\u2019s Annual Alumni Awards<\/a>, Roy received two honors, the University\u2019s Young Alumni Award and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Communication. He also received the Christopher Reeve Spirit of Courage Award<\/a>\u00a0from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation in January 2015 and, in October, anonymous donors gave $2.5 million to establish a professorship in his name at BU\u2019s Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences.<\/p>\n While he won\u2019t be speaking on Sunday, Roy still has some advice for graduates.<\/p>\n \u201cRecognize that change is a challenge, and you have to face your challenges no matter what they are, whether you chose the challenge or the challenge chose you,\u201d he says. \u201cMaintain an acute awareness of what makes you happy, and put more focus and energy into those things. Today\u2019s society spins so fast, and it is difficult to not be distracted by things\/technology that prevent us from focusing on our happiness. I truly believe a rich life is directly correlated to the quality of people that we surround ourselves with and the emotions that come from those relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n When this year\u2019s honorary degree recipients were announced at the Senior Breakfast<\/a>, Roy\u2019s name received the loudest round of applause from the audience.<\/p>\n Also receiving honorary degrees are\u00a0advisor and former chair, CBS Entertainment, and BU trustee Nina<\/span>\u00a0Tassler (CFA\u201979), who will give the Commencement address, Doctor of Humane Letters; Peace Corps director Carrie Hessler-Radelet<\/a> (CAS\u201979), who will be the Baccalaureate speaker, Doctor of Laws; and US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz<\/a>, who will address the\u00a0College of Engineering Undergraduate Convocation, Doctor of Laws.<\/p>\n More information about Commencement can be found here<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n