HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- The term viral gets thrown around rather easily these days, but in the case of Khalil Watson, the numbers bear it out. Watson is paralyzed, but walked across a graduation stage last month, a moment that has been watched hundreds of millions of times globally.
“It didn’t really hit me until a few days later," Watson told CBS 6 in his first interview since graduating from Reynolds Community College. “I always knew I wanted to impact the world, I just didn’t know how I was going to go about doing so, nor did I expect for it to happen this soon.”
Seven years ago, Watson was shot in the back on the neck and paralyzed weeks before his high school graduation.
Using a robotic exoskeleton on loan from the Sheltering Arms Institute, Watson was able to walk across the stage at the Siegel Center in Richmond, even though he requires a wheelchair for mobility.
The video and story of Khalil's journey reached touched millions of people.
The team at Sheltering Arms has been tracking his story and said it's received more than 330 million impressions worldwide.
The video shot by CBS 6 and posted to our Instagram account received millions of views, the number one post in our account history.
Actress Vivica A. Fox commented on Khalil's accomplishment, writing: "My heart is full of luv n smiles for his strength! CONGRATS KING!"
Rapper Busta Rhymes also responded to the video.
"It definitely feels great to know I was able to impact others. Not only did I impact those who are disabled but those who are abled as well," Watson said Wednesday.
Thinking back to the day of his graduation, unexpectedly, Watson was laser-focused on doing what it took to get across the stage successfully.
"It felt like a dream. It didn’t really feel like I was there physically. My main focus was making sure I was aware of keeping my body upright and controlling the cane, that way everything goes to plan," Watson said.
"It took some reflecting on what I had to endure to get to this point," Watson said. "All the late nights and early mornings; the all-nighters that I pulled; having to ride my chair downtown sometimes to get back and forth to school because my family and I don’t have a sensible vehicle. Reading some of the comments people posted about me walking across the stage, all of those things let me know this is reality and not a dream.”
Watson's determination clearly connected with millions. He credited his family, friends, and therapists for guiding the years of work it took to achieve his moment.
Earning his degree and completing the walk to get it is all Watson really wanted, all the attention is an added bonus.
"Everybody just proud of me, just asking me if my story went viral," he said. “There’s still more work to be done. I feel like I haven’t really done anything yet this is just the beginning.”
This fall, the now 25-year-old plans to begin his pursuit of a bachelor's and master's degree at VCU, the next path he hopes leads into social work one day.
“I’ve always been passionate about helping others. I just feel like I’ll be able to easily connect with individuals who have similar or worse situations than mine based off my own experiences," Watson said.
His story has now gone viral, a modern term that in many cases leaves behind only shallow outcomes. Watson is proud that from his moment, hundreds of millions of people will take away much more.
"I feel like people seeing me accomplish my goals and things like that is what inspired them and gave them that extra push," he said. "With hard work and dedication, anything is possible, regardless of your circumstances or the situation you may be in the moment. You just have to keep going.”
Watson's sister also graduated from Reynolds on the same day, and he said his immediate family went out to eat a few days after the ceremony to celebrate the family moment.
You can learn more about Sheltering Arms Institute here.
Watson said he was appreciative of the global outpouring of love, but added there was no need to donate to a GoFundMe on his behalf.
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