Samuel Meyers
That Samuel could even be a Richland College student, much less an exemplary one, is in itself a miracle. He sustained a head injury while playing football for his high school in Troup, Texas. The injury ruptured an artery in his brain. He was unconscious for 10 to 15 seconds at the time of his original accident, but a week later was re-injured when a football hit his face mask causing another ruptured artery, resulting in a Second Impact Syndrome.
The second injury put Samuel in a coma for four months and hospitalized him for a total of 599 days. He eventually went to the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas for 10 months then was transferred to the Transitional Learning Center (TLC) at Galveston for another 10 months. He was able to complete his high school degree while at TLC through Galveston Ball High School.
Samuel came to Richland to continue the long journey of putting his life back together. He completed courses at Richland College in 1998 with a GPA of 3.38, which he transferred to the University of North Texas. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with a GPA of 3.49. He went on to earn a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Texas at Austin with a GPA of 3.48.
Samuel made it his profesional goal to helps others with disabilities. He now works for the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services and is the only Independent Living Services Counselor in the Houston area. He also is a member of the Board of the Will Benson Foundation on Sport Safety and has been asked to be the organization's next president. He is a board member of the Brain Injury Association of Texas and the Texas Rehabilitation Action Network.
In Samuel's words, "As a survivor of a life-threatening disability, I have dedicated my professional career to serving individuals with disabilities, advocating for their rights and informing the general public of the rights that individuals with disabilities are entitled to. Now looking back, I have begun to see a glimpse of what God has in store for my life, and the way that He is going to use me in changing other people's lives."