RALEIGH, N.C. — Howard Boone’s life changed forever when he became an innocent victim of gun violence four years ago, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

Inevitably, with such an injury, the incident changed his life completely. After a long delay, Boone was finally able to achieve a personal dream and graduate from Saint Augustine’s University with a degree in criminal justice.

Even after losing his ability to walk, Boone still managed to keep going despite being paralyzed.

“You can’t quit, even when you want to quit your situation. It’s not about you,” he said.

Boone relies on a ventilator and is attached to a bed. In South Carolina, four years ago, the 27-year-old became a victim of gun violence when he was shot in the neck as an innocent bystander.

“Three shots rang out and I happened to get hit with a stray bullet,” Boone said.

The injury Boone sustained made it seemingly impossible to finish college, but the Saint Augustine University student was determined to complete his assignments and research papers, using dictation on his cell phone to do it.

“This was more challenging because as I’m talking to you right now, that’s how I’m talking to my phone all day, eight in the morning checking emails,” Boone said.

That hard work gave Boone a chance to accomplish his longtime dream of graduating with a degree in criminal justice. Spectrum News spoke with him one day before that dream came true. 

“I’ve never not finished anything," Boone said. "Everything that I started, I always finished an ending to it, so me going back to school, I just had to do that because I was too close to the end not to."

Boone, a former member of the U.S. Army Reserve, had plans of rising through the ranks of the military. Although gun violence cut those plans short, he still hopes to inspire the next generation through his story of perseverance.

“Even when you feel like giving up or quitting sometimes, you got to push through because people are still watching,” Boone said.

Boone says he has dreams of publishing a book of his poetry, while also using his experience to speak out against gun violence.