There are two subjects Brandon Lyons ’12 SC&IS knows well: people and perspective.
After graduating from Smeal, he accepted a consulting job with Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) and, within a year, was named Supply Chain Rookie of the Year for his exceptional client service.
Two years later, a dive into shallow water on Memorial Day weekend turned his world upside down. He had broken his T5 and T6 vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. During his rehabilitation, when he was told he had less than a 1 percent chance to regain all function, he gained perspective from observing fellow patients.
“I quickly noticed how much worse my situation could be,” he says. “I thought I could be that one percent.”
Lyons channeled his energies into excelling at handcycling and into helping other challenged athletes by raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). He is now a resident athlete with USA Paralympic Cycling, living and training full time in Colorado Springs. He has used those cycling skills the last two years to ride in the Million Dollar Challenge, a seven-day, 700-mile ride from San Francisco to San Diego, with CAF to help raise money for people with physical challenges.
“If I can inspire just one person,” Lyons says, “then I’ve done something.”
—Andy Elder ’87 COM
