May 21, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Former Nittany Lion Adam Taliaferro will graduate from law school on Thursday as he continues to achieve and overcome obstacles nearly eight years after suffering a severe neck injury during a Penn State football game.
Taliaferro will be earning his J.D. degree from the Rutgers School of Law-Camden. He enrolled in law school in May, 2005, a couple of weeks after graduating from Penn State. There are approximately 180 graduates in the class.
Taliaferro has already landed a job with the Philadelphia law firm Montgomery McCracken. He will begin work there in September after some well-deserved time off, including a trip to Disney World. Taliaferro anticipates he will begin in the Labor & Employment department.
"I'm not sure what area of the law I want to focus on," Taliaferro said. "I want to learn about all aspects of the law. Possibly representing athletes is something I want to keep in the back of my mind."
Montgomery McCracken has a Sports, Entertainment and Amusement department. Taliaferro interned with the National Football League Players' Association while at Penn State.
"Staying in the Philadelphia area was a main goal of mine, Taliaferro added. "I love going back to Penn State and going to as many games as I can."
"Adam has been an inspiration to everyone at our university and many others," said Penn State coach Joe Paterno. "He is courageous, dedicated and an example of being able to overcome extreme adversity. He's a hero."
A cornerback from Voorhees, N.J., Taliaferro suffered a severe neck injury while making a tackle in the fourth quarter of the game at Ohio State on September 23, 2000. He fractured the fifth cervical vertebra near the base of his neck when tackling Buckeye running back Jerry Westbrooks.
Taliaferro lay on the field motionless for many agonizing minutes. The initial prognosis of his spinal injury was that he had little chance of walking again.
But, the talented, personable and vibrant young man and his family would have nothing of the
devastating diagnosis. Through his incredible determination and courage, tireless rehabilitation and desire to return to a normal life, Taliaferro was incredibly walking on his own five months after his injury.
A little more than 11 months after his horrific injury, Taliaferro completed one of the major goals he had set soon after the injury. On September 1, 2001, he walked, then skipped and jogged onto the Beaver Stadium turf in front of a jubilant record crowd of more than 109,000, leading the Nittany Lions onto the field against Miami (Fla.).
Taliaferro began taking a full academic course load again in the 2001 fall semester while continuing his rehabilitation. In May, 2005 he walked across the stage at the Bryce Jordan Center and was awarded his degree in labor and industrial relations.