Photo Courtesy Of WRAL
North Carolina man, Howard Boone Jr., graduated from his hometown HBCU Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) four years after being paralyzed from the neck down due to a gunshot wound.
Boone Jr. reportedly graduated with a bachelor’s degree earlier this week.
“My dad, he was always the one that told me: ‘If you start something, you’ve got to finish it,'” he said.
The former high school football, lacrosse, and baseball player began his college journey at Saint Augustine’s in 2015 with a full-ride scholarship. He was able to do so via the U.S. Army Reserves and Military Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
“That was one of the main things about why I joined the military because I didn’t have a sense of direction, so I was in the U.S. Army Reserves,” Boone Jr. said.
On Mar. 18, 2018, he was shot while visiting Columbia’s Five Points to celebrate his initiation into Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. A gunman opened fire into a large crowd striking the criminal justice major in the neck and leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
“When it first happened, I always asked myself, why me?” the then 23-year-old told news reporters. “But like my family always says, God doesn’t put his soldiers out for no reason. He tests his best soldiers.”
Recently, the graduate explained what happened during the incident.
“It was a celebration downtown, right, so a whole bunch of people. Shots rang out, but when everybody dispersed, I’m the only one left.” Boone Jr. said.
He added that he was in a coma for nearly two weeks before waking up.
“I was in a sedated coma for almost two weeks before I actually woke up. I coded twice, on the scene and again during surgery.”
Weeks later, while hooked up to tubes and unable to move his arms and legs, he was notified that a bullet had cut his spinal cord, immobilizing him from the neck down.
Although he had moments of despair where he cried and felt helpless, he decided to continue his studies in criminal justice at Saint Augustine’s.
“If I start something, I’ve got to finish it,” Boone Jr. said. “And so when I got shot, I was going into my senior year…That’s two semesters. That’s too easy.”
The SAU graduate reportedly learned how to write his assignments via voice commands on an iPhone and eventually achieved his goal.
“The whole time during the ceremony, I’m in a daze. I’m feeling like I’m going to black out because it’s unreal,” he said. “Like it’s my time for me to get to go up there.”
Boone Jr. also said he wanted to leave a legacy behind.
“My biggest thing is being able to leave a legacy and tell stories when you’re older.”