Family Engagement Events

"I try to help these players walk through life."

That's how Timothy Alexander describes his role as director of character development for the UAB Blazers football team. But it's an interesting choice of words, since he has not physically been able to walk for more than 10 years. 

Alexander was paralyzed in an auto accident in 2006 while a student and football player at Birmingham's Erwin High School. Though he has slowly improved over the years and can now stand on his own, Alexander must rely on a wheelchair.

But spend time with him, and you quickly realize that wheelchair is simply a vehicle. It does not define how the 28-year-old travels through life__or what he has to say. He gives UAB credit for helping him find his voice.

"I'm forever grateful for this university and the football program," says Alexander, who earned a master's degree in communication management from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2015. "I've grown a lot by being here and being around this football team. The team taught me how to be a man, and how to demand excellence in myself."