PENN STATE SOUTH JERSEY SHORE
Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association

2014 - Annual Scholarship Dinner

Speaker Profile - Adam Taliaferro

Adam Taliaferro graduated from Penn State in 2005, and is a 2008 graduate of Rutgers School of Law - Camden.  Adam was ranked the seventh best high school player in the nation and member of the National Honor Society when he graduated from Eastern High School in Voorhees, NJ in 2000. He was already being projected as a National Football League prospect.  He was offered scholarships by numerous prestigious universities around the country and chose to attend Penn State.     

Many will recall watching the Penn State/Ohio State game that surreal Saturday afternoon when he suffered a spinal-cord injury after tackling an opponent during his freshman year. Doctors initially told him that his chances of walking again were slight. Through his incredible faith, determination and courage, tireless rehabilitation and support of his family and friends he defied the odds by walking out of McGee Rehabilitation Hospital an amazing five months after his injury.   

Although his career as a football player had been cut short, his inspirational recovery was followed throughout the nation, leading authors Scott Brown and Sam Carchidi to chronicle his remarkable story in their 2001 book, Miracle in the Making.  

Adam and his family created the Adam Taliaferro Foundation, which provides emotional, financial and educational assistance to individuals who suffer catastrophic head or spinal cord injuries.  The Foundation also provides support for research and prevention of those injuries. Adam and the Foundation host a high school all-star game every summer titled the “Adam Taliaferro Classic.”  The Foundation has raised nearly $500,000 since its inception to assist individuals and their families who have suffered devastating injuries similar to Adam’s. 

Adam has received many honors and awards, including the 2009 Philadelphia Sports Writers Humanitarian Award and Bank of America's Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Award. He was also the honorary chairman for the 2002 Special Olympics Summer Games and was chosen to carry the Olympic Torch in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games!

 He is serving his first term on the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Gloucester County having been elected in November of 2011 and was elected to the Penn State Board of Trustees earlier in 2012.       

 Adam recently began working with Bristol Myers Squibb as a Healthcare Advocate and resides in Woolwich Township with his wife.

Source: A. Taliaferro,  04 May 2014

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