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“From Zero to a Hundred: Finding My Purpose Through My Pain,” and founder of the Zero 2 A Hundred Foundation, knows what it’s like to look adversity in the eye and overcome it, and be able to live life to the fullest again.
Roy will share his journey of coming from a broken home, living his youth surrounded by gang violence, and surviving two life-changing auto accidents, during a free presentation at Lone Star College-Montgomery on Wednesday, November 12, at 6 p.m. in the Recital Hall, located in the college’s Music Hall (Building H). The event includes a meet-and-greet reception with Roy, and refreshments will be provided.
“Jason is such an inspirational speaker,” said Dr. Austin Lane, president of LSC-Montgomery. “Turning his ability to never lose faith in God into a way to give back to those with spinal cord and brain injuries says so much about his character. His story is very impressive to hear and it is encouraging to know that anyone can take their tragedies and turn them into a true desire to live.”
Roy was a star athlete in high school until a horrifying auto accident, involving a drunk driver, left him clinging to life in 1994. Injuries he sustained in that accident left him struggling through months of physical therapy, but he pushed through and was able to graduate from Sharpstown High School in Houston.
Roy went on to earn his bachelor of science from Texas Southern University and joined the Houston Police department, where he became a member of the crime reduction unit of the gang division. Finding himself once again cheating death after becoming trapped in the wreckage of his squad car during a high-speed chase, he has taken that tragedy and turned it into his purpose in life.
“I’m doing what God wants me to do, which is to share with the world that no matter the storms someone is going through, they can never give up,” Roy said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, everyone faces trials and tribulations in their life. When someone is at that lowest place in their life, that ‘zero’, they have to find the hope and inspiration to get back to that ‘hundred’.”
Roy suffered a spinal cord and brain injury that, in the days following his accident, led to a stroke that left him paralyzed. While in recovery, he met other patients with spinal cord and brain injuries who were being released from the hospital much too soon, due to lack of financial resources. Roy vowed that, should he walk again, he would find a way to help kids and young adults with the financial assistance they need to heal properly.
Roy’s nonprofit organizations, Zero 2 A Hundred, was established in 2013 to provide financial assistance for rehabilitative treatment to children and adolescents with brain or spinal cord injuries, but have exhausted their financial resources and are unable to seek continued treatment.
“I am so excited about what we have been able to do in a short period of time,” Roy said. “My big goals for the foundation are to, first, go global and raise awareness of spinal cord and brain injuries. Second, I would love to open a school for kids with disabilities, which will offer therapy and rehabilitation programs as part of the curriculum.”
Roy also authored “From Zero to a Hundred: Finding My Purpose Through My Pain”, where he chronicles his struggles to recovery and his tenacity for life, justice, and the ability to be normal again in a society unfriendly to those with disabilities.
Visit zero2ahundred.com for more information about Jason Roy, his book “From Zero to a Hundred: Finding My Purpose Through My Pain,” and the Zero 2 A Hundred Foundation.
LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call (936) 273-7000, or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery.
Lone Star College System has been opening doors to a better community for more than 40 years. Founded in 1973, LSCS remains steadfast in its commitment to student success and credential completion. Today, with 78,000 students in credit classes, and a total enrollment of more than 90,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and one of the fastest-growing community college systems in the nation. Dr. Steve Head is the chancellor of LSCS, which consists of six colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball and LSC-University Park, seven centers, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.