Travis Roy Visits Suffield Academy

Travis Roy is a quadriplegic, with no feeling below his shoulders and no movement in his legs or his left arm. But that wasn’t always so. At the age of 20, only 11 seconds into his first shift on a Division I hockey team, Travis was checked into the boards, his fourth cervical vertebra shattered and his spinal cord damaged. Despite his physical limitations, Travis has become a model of optimism and determination.

Travis Roy shared his story and his will to keep pursuing his goals with the Suffield Academy community during Chapel on Thursday, December 12. In front of an audience of over 400 Suffield students and faculty members, Roy recounted his life — from his childhood in Yarmouth, Maine, a time when all he dreamed of was playing Division I college hockey, to the moment on October 20, 1995 when that dream was cut short.

“Travis’s story is both a harrowing and inspirational one,” said faculty member Wayne Patterson. “Hearing about his experiences first hand was moving. Many of the students were awestruck by his determination and attitude in the face of his paralysis.” In addition to serving as a college counselor, Patterson is advisor to the Academy’s Residential Proctor Program, the group that co-sponsored Travis’s visit to campus with the Chapel Program, which is led by Peggy Sullivan. “I hope this Chapel speech will stick with students for a long time,” Patterson continued. “I hope it will help them keep some perspective when things become difficult in their own lives and that they’ll remember what a positive attitude and helping hand can accomplish.”

Following Roy’s Chapel speech, students met in small discussion groups headed by the Academy’s student proctors and faculty members.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

SA Students React to Travis Roy's Chapel Speech:

Travis's speech had a great impact on me not only as a person, but as an athlete too. His years of growing up in the hockey world are very similar to mine as we both played for our local youth teams to start, then moved on to the whole prep school scene. Then on to college hockey. When Travis was growing up, his dad managed the local ice rink in Maine where he grew up. My dad owns two ice rinks on Long Island where I grew up.

Travis’s attitude towards everything is so strong and positive. He just takes anything that comes his way in stride. That meant a lot to me. It’s given me the outlook to play every shift and live everyday like it’s my last.

– Jordy Hart ’03

I think we can all take a lesson from Travis’s preparation before his accident. He made goals for himself and was more determined to achieve them than most other high school students.

Travis explained that as students fortunate to be at Suffield, we should take on a "seize the day" mentality. Our dreams and aspirations may be taken away from us at any moment, and there may not be anyone to blame.

Our discussion group (after the Chapel speech) focused on how to handle such a drastic change in life. Travis spoke with overwhelming confidence and really proved to have a strong character underneath. He is not feeling sorry for himself when he sets new goals to financially support himself and to live on his own. This puts into perspective what our goals may be as students. Do we really take advantage of what is in front of us?

I — and a lot of other students — felt more ambitious after this Chapel and discussion group, more willing to deal with problems or adversity in general. Our problems are only a fraction of the obstacles that Travis faces on a daily basis. Just as easily as anything can be lost, it can also be gained. But that shouldn’t prevent anyone from setting and achieving goals.

– Greg Schultz ’03, Student Council President

-December 20, 2002-