Motivational speaker and former NCAA Division I football player for Rutgers University Eric LeGrand will speak at Seton Hall at 6 p.m. on Monday in Walsh Gymnasium about the accident that ended his football career. LeGrand, 22, was paralyzed from the shoulders down after being tackled in the fourth quarter of a game in October 2010.
Also speaking are physical therapist Sandra "Buffy" Wojciehowski and occupational therapist Gabriella Stiefbold, who work at Kessler Rehabilitation Institute, where they came to know LeGrand.
"Seton Hall students will en- joy this program because they can relate to Eric, who is just 22 years young," said Lori Riley, director of special events for the School of Health and Medical Sciences. "We also know they will be proud of Buffy, a fellow Pirate who, through hard work and determi- nation, has found a lot of success in her job as a physical therapist."
LeGrand founded Team LeGrand in collaboration with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to help individuals living with spinal-cord injury and their families cope "by support- ing quality-of-life initiatives and emerging therapies."
"Eric's motivation to walk again is so inspiring and we are sure the entire University community will feel empowered and uplifted upon hearing his story of courage and faith," said Genevieve Pinto-Zipp, professor and chair of the SHMS Interprofessional Education Task Force.
The dean of the School of Health and Medical Sciences, Brian Shulman, said: "We look forward to showcasing how an interprofessional team of healthcare providers, including Buffy, one of our school's most successful graduates, can work together to pro- vide the best in patient-centered care."
According to Seton Hall, Wojciehowski is a physical therapy clinical specialist and graduated from Seton Hall in 2007 with her B.S. and D.P.T. She is the leader of the Kessler Outpatient Department.
Stiefbold graduated with a B.S. in occupational therapy from Kean University and is an occupational therapy clinical specialist in the Outpatient Spinal-Cord Injury Department at Kessler.
To get tickets go to http:// www7.shu.edu/health-medical-sciences/legrand-event.cfm.
Lindsay Rittenhouse can be reached at lindsay.rittenhouse@student.shu.edu.
