William Sibley isn’t supposed to be here. He will graduate from the University of South Carolina May 10 with a bachelor’s degree in sport and entertainment management, earned in just four years, but logic says it can’t be happening.
What happened to Sibley on Feb. 19, 2022, should have made it impossible. While crossing a street, he was hit by a car and flung nearly 60 feet. He was critically injured, suffering from intracranial pressure in his brain, punctured lungs, an injured artery in his neck, a badly broken leg and more.
“It wasn’t surefire that I was going to live. People use the word ‘miracle’ and I used to think I didn’t deserve to use that word, but as I’ve learned more, I know it is a miracle that I’m here, that I've been given a chance to come back and be able to do school and do life again,” Sibley says.
He not only overcame tremendous odds just to survive but also showed the stunning dedication needed to be back on campus less than a year after his accident and to graduate on time, alongside his freshman class.
“A lot of people don’t ever make it back to what they were doing before. And it’s amazing, he took exams just a year later. Even years and years later, a lot of people can’t even balance a checkbook. So, he’s doing high level, executive functioning skills,” Dr. Chris Watson told local television station WIS. Watson was the surgeon who saved Sibley’s life the night of the accident.
As Sibley started his rehabilitation, he read about another USC Department of Sport and Entertainment Management student, graduating that spring of 2022. Andee Poulos suffered a severe stroke when she was 14, but overcame it to earn her degree. As Sibley does now, she reflected on the fact that she was not supposed to be able to do it. Sibley, who continues to live with the long-term effects of a traumatic brain injury, was inspired by her story.
“I told myself, ‘If she was able to do this, you're able to do this,’ and that really motivated me and set me on the right path,” he says.
Sibley also turned one of his mother’s favorite sayings, “poco a poco” (Spanish for “little by little”) into a mantra.
“You can't see the progress and improvements on a day-to-day basis, but week by week, month by month, you take a step back and go, ‘Okay, two months ago, I wasn't able to do that. I wasn't able to think like that.’ So having a broader perspective has been so important,” he says.
Inches and moments away from death in February 2022, William Sibley was back in the Close-Hipp building taking classes in January 2023. Soon, he was adding a heavier load to make up for lost time, determined to graduate with his class. He was willing to work as hard as necessary, and he found support along the way.
“My parents are my rock. They have done everything in their power to make me better, and I could never repay them,” he says. “My roommates are also graduating this spring. TJ Leon, James Griffis and Riley Garden were my closest friends the day that I got hit. They have been so patient with me and have been unconditionally great to me. I am so thankful to have them by my side.”
Sibley also expresses gratitude to his professors, to the university in general and to the Student Disability Resource Center in particular.
After graduation, he will move to Salt Lake City to start his career as a ticket sales account executive with the Utah Grizzlies professional hockey team. It is a time for well-earned celebration, but Sibley never forgets how close he came to missing it all.
“I just want to reiterate how much I know I shouldn't be here and that I have been shown great mercy and grace as a college student,” he says. “Hearing about the student who was in a collision and passed away a few weeks ago broke my heart and provided a bunch of reflection. Life isn't fair and I just want to do as good as I can moving forward.”