Bowie State Student Overcomes Brain Injury to Graduate

Dior Ginyard, 23, never thought he would be the same again after suffering a serious brain injury playing football his freshman year of college.

He went through brain surgery and a year of rehabilitation before transferring to Bowie State University where he graduated Dec. 16 with a bachelor of science degree in public relations.

“In some ways, I’m not the same,” said Ginyard. “I look at life differently. I now have a greater appreciation for it, because I know that things can change at any moment.”

Ginyard was a freshman at Frostburg State University on Dec. 3, 2006. The season of the university’s football team was over and he and some of his fellow teammates decided to play a game of flag football. Ginyard was running and he collided with another player, head-to-head.

From the outside, everything appeared fine. But Ginyard said part of his skull was fractured, piercing his brain and causing it to swell. He was flown by helicopter to the hospital, and brain surgery was performed.

Post surgery, there was memory loss and the loss of the ability to concentrate, he said. That was followed by grief and depression because he had gone to school for football and could never play again.

But through a rehab that included counseling, memory games and concentration tasks, Ginyard said he was able to recover, except for an occasional flash of a migraine.

“I learned so much about myself,” he said. “I learned that there was life after football.”

Upon leaving rehab, he decided he wanted to return to college and he transferred to Bowie State.

“The rehab and being in and out of the hospital for a year, it was difficult because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was really lost. I found public relations and marketing was something I like to do so I focused on that,” said Ginyard.

Ginyard says being involved on campus helped keep him on track and motivate him to continue moving forward.

“After my head injury, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. Once I got involved on campus, I started developing hobbies and finding new interests,” he said.

A member of a number of student organizations, Ginyard assisted in the coordination of both the 2010 and 2011 homecoming events and worked with the school's athletics department to launch its first newsletter.

Ginyard says he has learned how to overcome challenges and look to the future. “Just seeing that you can make mistakes, you can mess up, you can change. The world isn’t over, you just have to make a decision and determination that you want to do better.”

In addition to working at BB&T bank in Bowie and interning with the Washington Redskins organization, Ginyard plans to pursue his master’s in marketing next year.

“I understand now that I have my whole life ahead of me.”