{"id":34,"date":"2026-05-11T20:38:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=34"},"modified":"2026-05-11T20:38:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:38:46","slug":"taking-that-next-step-paralyzed-graduate-defies-odds-and-walks-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=34","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Taking that next step\u2019: Paralyzed graduate defies odds and walks stage"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) \u2014 This graduation season, a Virginia Union University (VUU) graduate, paralyzed from the chest down, defied the odds by walking across the stage\u2026 again.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=32\">Another round of rain arriving Wednesday into Thursday in central NC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Saturday\u2019s ceremony was the second time Jaiden Picot crossed the VUU stage using a robotic exoskeleton. But this time, it was for his master\u2019s degree in business, which he wants to use to help others with disabilities like his own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am reaching for the stars, taking that next step,\u201d Picot said, speaking with Nexstar\u2019s WRIC ahead of the ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>Picot has never let his life-changing injury dictate his future. In August 2024, he was hit by a truck while riding an e-scooter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt had left me with a C4 spinal injury. I had a crushed neck,\u201d Picot said. \u201cI was in the hospital for three or four months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It left him paralyzed from the chest down. But intensive rehab at Sheltering Arms Institute helped him gain his independence back.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=30\">Wake County holds law enforcement memorial ceremony<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With the exoskeleton, which responds to Picot swaying, he made it all the way across the stage for the first time since his accident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJaiden has a lot of motivation,\u201d said Brittany McCormick, an exercise physiologist at Sheltering Arms who helped Jaiden walk on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJaiden is one person that will come into Sheltering Arms without a negative attitude. He will never come in and say, I don\u2019t feel like doing this today,\u201d McCormick said.<\/p>\n<p>Picot was able to complete his Bachelor\u2019s degree on time in 2025 and immediately went to work on his graduate studies. This year, he earned his Executive MBA. He is working toward a career in real estate, where he wants to help others find accessible housing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just want to help people more, like me, with disabilities. Because I know for myself its really hard to find accommodative and comfortable homes for myself,\u201d Picot said. \u201cSo I just want to help a lot of people out there like me, like to find those accommodative homes where they can feel comfortable and feel very positive to live at.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=22\">Fayetteville launches initiative to improve road safety, seeks community input<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This graduation season, a Virginia Union University (VUU) graduate, paralyzed from the chest down, defied the odds by walking across the stage&#8230; again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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