While Timothy Alexander was attending Erwin High School in Alabama, he was ranked the eighth best football player in the state. Along with his ranking came the opportunity to play for any college in the U.S. But his path changed drastically about 12 years ago when he was involved in a car accident that caused him to be paralyzed from the neck down.

Following his accident, Timothy pursued and obtained his bachelor’s degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he double majored in criminal justice and communication management. Then he received his master’s degree in communication management.

Apart from his academic accomplishments, Timothy became the first paraplegic to be awarded a football scholarship in Division I football. His proudest achievement, however, came in July 2016 when he managed to stand up without any help while on a football field. This feat became the subject of much media attention and was covered by outlets including ABC News.

We’re excited to have Timothy as one of our speakers at our big event this year, where he’ll be talking about the renewing of the mind. He admits that giving a TEDx Talk is not something he wanted to do because it was outside of his comfort zone. But he eventually decided to take the leap after being encouraged to do so and is excited about the opportunity.

After people hear his TEDxPasadena Talk, Timothy said he hopes people will take away his signature phrase: “We don’t need it to be easy, we just need it to be possible.”

When asked about what idea or life experience has been the most transformative in his life so far, Timothy said: “The willingness to make a choice to trust the process and commit to the process, and wake up and do it in love daily.”

You can learn more about Timothy by visiting his website here.