LBW Community College invites the public to experience the uplifting and motivational presentation of Timothy Alexander at 11 a.m. on Feb. 19 in the Martha and Solon Dixon Theater for the Performing Arts in Andalusia, funded through a Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant.

“We don’t need it to be easy. We just need it to be possible,” says Alexander. The rising star high school athlete with dreams of playing in the National Football League found a new purpose in life after a 2006 life-changing car accident left him paralyzed from the neck down.

He graduated from high school in 2007, attended an Alabama community college before transferring to the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he double majored in criminal justice and communication management.

While at UAB, he left a major impact by becoming the first paraplegic to receive a football scholarship. He gained recognition through his involvement on campus and his academic achievements.

He led the 2014 movement to reinstate the football, bowling, and rifle programs at UAB after they were terminated. Receiving approximately 56 city and county proclamations supporting the reinstatement of the three teams, he joined with UAB boosters and Birmingham city leaders and supporters to help raise more than $40 million in one year.

His proudest moment came on July 18, 2016 when he was able to stand up on his own for the first time since being paralyzed to receive his Master’s Degree in Communication Management. The video of him standing went viral, catching the eye of ABC National News, TMZ Sports, and other news stations worldwide.

In November 2016, he was nominated as the sports program feature for the 31st mid-south regional Emmy Awards of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and in January 2017, he was named the Emmy Awards winner.

With a passion for sports and leadership, he took what he’s learned from his own experience to become a motivational speaker. His presentation at LBWCC is free and open to the public.