Success Story -- Jim Beckley

A commencement speaker is expected to convey a message of inspiration to his audience. At this year’s Terra Community College graduation, Jim Beckley delivered – both in words and actions.

In his mortar board, gown and honor cords, the Tiffin resident spoke to his classmates from the wheelchair that has been his only means of mobility since a vehicular accident five years ago left him paralyzed.

“I am here to tell you that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to,” Jim told the graduates and hundreds of others gathered for the ceremony.

 After countless hours of rehabilitation and two major surgeries to improve movement in his arms, he was convinced by his brother to take a few classes at Terra with him.
“When you’re a quadriplegic like I am, you have nothing but time,” he said. “You start feeling down a lot and you have a lot of time to think about your life. So I decided to go to school so that I could at least keep my mind sharp.”
Before the accident, Jim worked with robots and with the help of computer software donated by robotics company Asea Brown Bovari, he was able to program robots again.

 
“What teachers do is provide hope for students, and in Jim’s case that is especially true,” said Tom Kissell, Dean of the Engineering and Industrial Technologies Division. “Here we have this guy who had an excellent job and career taken away from him in a matter of seconds. He didn’t think he had hope when he started here and we were able to give him back some hope when we were able to hook up the software to the robots.”

On June 10, with a 3.86 grade point average, Jim received an Associate of Technical Study Degree in Computer Aided Design/Robotics/Automotive. He hopes to find a local industry that can use his unique talents or maybe even try his hand at teaching.

In the meantime, as members of the Northwest Ohio National Spinal Cord Injury Association, both he and his wife, Ellen, will continue speaking about responsible driving to teens at area schools. His attitude remains positive.

“I feel like God gave me a second chance,” Jim said. “Before I was a workaholic and I never got a chance to see my older three children grow up. Now I’m home every day with my three youngest and it’s almost as if God gave me a second chance to be a dad.”