The Suffolk University Athletic Department was honored to have Travis Roy come in and speak to the university’s student-athletes on Thursday evening. Roy, a former hockey player at Boston University was tragically paralyzed in an on-ice accident just eleven seconds into the first shift of his career. After his rehabilitation, Travis completed his degree in Communications, authored a book entitled Eleven Seconds, and now does public motivational speaking. He also runs the Travis Roy Foundation, an organization dedicated to spinal injury survivors and research into finding a cure.

The event which took place at Suffolk’s C. Walsh Theatre was co-sponsored by Athletics and the Office of Disability Services. Suffolk University’s Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) hosted the event. SAAC President Jess Ferreira introduced Travis to a packed room. His emotional speech lasted close to an hour and detailed his journey from reaching his dream of being a Division I Hockey player and then having it taken away from his tragic accident. Travis inspirational speech talked about overcoming obstacles but also talked about the everyday challenges we all face and how to make the most of opportunities.