By Samille Taylor, Resident Assistant and New Student Mentor, Endicott College Class of 2013

All his life Travis Roy has had an unbelievable passion for the game of hockey. Growing up he wanted nothing more than to make it big and hopefully skate alongside the professionals. When the time came for college applications Roy was being scouted by schools all across the country; schools such as Harvard and Boston University wanted Roy to attend their school because of his amazing hockey skills. Roy decided to attend Boston University because they had one of the best hockey teams in the country. As a freshman he had the opportunity to play in one of the biggest games of the year; yet after only being on the ice for eleven seconds his life was changed forever. Travis Roy became paralyzed after hitting his head off the boards, fracturing his fourth and fifth vertebrae.

In life there are times when we choose our challenges and other times when the challenges simply choose us.The question is whether we conquer the challenges life presents us, or surrender to them.

The quote above is one of the most memorable things Travis Roy, now in his mid thirties,  said to the students of Endicott College when he was brought here as a guest speaker by The LIGHThouse Leadership Society. Roy had a very inspirational message that the Endicott students responded very well to; he let us know that there will always be challenges in life; the ones that we choose and the ones that choose us. Travis Roy had chosen the challenge of becoming a great hockey player so that he could play for a school such as Boston University; he did whatever it took to meet his goals and conquer that challenge. However, being a quadriplegic was a challenge that chose Travis. Despite the fact that he did not choose this challenge, he still has been setting goals and doing whatever it takes to live a normal life and not let his disability change the person that he is. Travis left all of the Endicott students that attended his event with the feeling of inspiration. Travis Roy taught us that anything is possible regardless of the challenges life may present; the only thing that matters is if you decide to conquer the challenge or let the challenge conquer you.

EC senior Joshua Bruno with Travis Roy. Joshua has been a long-time fan of Travis' (he has read Roy's inspirational book several times), and was thrilled to finally meet him.