Courson '11, PoliSci, Tells Inspiring Tale on CBS Baltimore

Published: May 10, 2012

After an ATV accident in 2006, Matt Courson ’11, political science, was paralyzed from the waist down and given a 1% chance of walking again. Thanks to aggressive physical therapy at the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury, he was able to walk across the stage to receive his UMBC diploma just five years later—a moment captured by the Baltimore Sun and featured on CNN’s “Human Factor.”

Courson attended a celebration marking the 75th anniversary of the Kennedy Krieger Institute this week. He told CBS News, “This place has done so much for me, the therapists, the doctors…they are family to me and I definitely hold a special place for Kennedy Krieger in my heart.”

This article originally appeared in UMBC Insights.

Scroll to Top