Before his accident, Kyle Duran weighed more than 200 pounds and worked construction jobs. The accident left Duran paralyzed from the chest down. Over time, he has lost more than 50 pounds. He has tirelessly relearned how to perform everyday tasks like getting dressed and writing.
Kyle Duran was driving home from a construction job in his new truck, 12 days after his 25th Birthday. Leaning over to roll down the window is the last thing he remembers. He woke up in Barnes-Jewish Hospital outside St. Louis with a broken neck and spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Apparently a biker witnessed Duran being flung out of his vehicle and into the cornfields. The biker performed CPR and facilitated Duran’s helicopter ride to the nearest trauma center.
“A police officer visited me in the hospital because he didn’t believe I was still alive,” Duran said.
That was 2017. Duran spent a year learning how to put on his pants. He only recently figured out how to write, given the flaccid state of his hands. He purchased some software and a special mouse that enable him to use a computer and type. He’s determined to finish his undergraduate degree in finance through Robinson’s Online B.B.A. Degree Completion Program.
“Everyone has different circumstances,” Duran said. “For me, the program has been a blessing.”
The coursework’s online format is convenient, but the program requires a lot of time and effort.
“You have to submerge yourself in every class,” Duran said. “I swear, the instructors try to make up for the time you’d otherwise spend driving, parking, and walking.”
The accident left Duran paralyzed from the chest down. Over time, he has lost more than 50 pounds. He has tirelessly relearned how to perform everyday tasks like getting dressed and writing.
The accident left Duran paralyzed from the chest down. Over time, he has lost more than 50 pounds. He has tirelessly relearned how to perform everyday tasks like getting dressed and writing.
Duran has a reference point. After graduating from high school in 2011, he enrolled at Valdosta State University and played on its baseball team for two years. At the time, he didn’t think he was cut out for college.
“Here I am, back in school,” he said. “If I want a chance at living a normal life, I need a degree in order to get a job.”
After finishing some core classes at Perimeter College, Duran easily transitioned to Robinson. So far, he’s especially enjoyed Richard Fendler’s Corporation Finance course. The topics, like time value of money calculations, financial forecasting, and financial statement analysis, are applicable to everyday aspects of life.
Duran isn’t whetted to a particular career path. Right now, he’s just focused on the dogged pursuit of his degree.
“Finance is so broad,” he said. “I’m going to walk through whatever doors open for me.”