Athlete Who Overcame Life-Threatening Injuries Defies Odds to Receive Diploma During Winter Commencement at University of New Haven, January 16, 2010
West Haven, Conn., January 14, 2010- As James Hilaire heads to the stage to accept his diploma during the University of New Haven (UNH) Winter Commencement exercises, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010, he will be thinking of all of the obstacles he had to overcome in getting there. Fifteen months ago, Hilaire wasn't sure if he would even walk again, let alone complete his degree. While goal tending during a soccer match against Merrimack College on September 24, 2008 he sustained life-threatening injuries, spending weeks in treatment and rehabilitation after being air-lifted to Boston Medical Center.
Last fall, the Fairfield County Sports Commission named Hilaire as the recipient of one of its most prestigious honors, the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award. The award recognizes a person in the sports community who has demonstrated inspirational strength in overcoming life-altering obstacles. Other accolades include his selection as the official CONCACAF Gold Cup team liaison for the Haitian national soccer team in July 2009, and as a co-recipient of the 2009 Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) Male Sportsmanship Award.
The criminal justice major was born in Haiti and moved to Stamford, Connecticut at 14. While maintaining a 3.3 GPA as criminal justice major, Hilaire became a star goalie for the UNH men's soccer team. Before his accident, his goal was to obtain a hands-on job in law enforcement. Due to the permanent partial paralysis in his right arm and leg, he can no longer perform the physical tasks required. Not one to give up his dream, Hilaire has applied to a support position within the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In the meantime, Hilaire is developing a non-profit that will be called "Big Time Recovery." The goal of the organization will be to provide emotional support for injured high school and college athletes, as well as and financial assistance to pay for books and other school expenses. The Shelton, Connecticut law firm DeFilippo & Russo is helping Hilaire create the non-profit pro bono and the group's immediate goal is to line up corporate sponsors to assist with creating a website and publicity to generate donations for seed money. From then on, the focus will be to raise money that can be awarded to injured athletes.
For more information on Big Time Recovery, please contact Tracey Russo of DeFilippo & Russo, at trusso@defilipporusso.com, or 203-242-3011.
A leader in experiential education, the University of New Haven is experiencing a historic and nationally recognized surge in enrollment. Founded in 1920, the University provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. UNH is a private university with an 80-acre main campus. The University has an enrollment of more than 5,200; approximately 1,700 graduate students and more than 3,500 undergraduates, 70 percent of whom reside in University housing. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its five colleges, in fields such as sports management, nutrition, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science and criminal justice. University College at UNH develops programs and courses to meet the emerging educational and training needs of educators, businesses and public and social agencies, focusing on academic excellence, convenience and flexibility. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.