Student earns doctorate eight years after accident left him paralyzed

Published: 2004-05-18

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- David Garcia said his journey from being in a car accident eight years ago that left him a quadriplegic to earning a doctorate May 14 from Vanderbilt University has been extraordinary. Garcia, a Catholic who is a native of the Dominican Republic, is quick to credit those who helped him along the way -- his family, God, health care workers, the Vanderbilt community, and his mentor, William Luis, professor of Spanish. "The mentor-protege relationship I've had with William Luis has been a key to my life," Garcia said in an interview with the Vanderbilt Register, the university's official newspaper. "After my accident he didn't quit on me. That gave me strength." Garcia, who can move only his neck and one arm slightly, earned his doctorate in Spanish-American literature and Latino studies. To write his dissertation -- on Puerto Rican writer and philosopher Jesus Colon -- he used a voice-operated computer program, working from his home in Apalachin, N.Y.

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