2:06
Leaning on faith and family, the 28-year-old Dallas native turned his story into his life's mission as a motivational speaker.
\"You just got to be thankful because it's a blessing to be alive and still be here,\" he said.
On Aug. 14, at the University of North Texas at Dallas, with the help of an exoskeleton suit from the Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas, Borner was able to surprise his friends and family by walking across the stage at his graduation.
RETWEET THIS FOREVER! SO I SHOCKED THE WHOLE WORLD! WHEN YOU SURPRISE THE WORLD WALKING ACROSS TO RECEIVE YOUR COMMUNICATION DEGREE! THIS IS THE BIGGEST MOMENT IN MY LIFE!!!! ! I WILL CONTINUE TO NEVER GIVE UP & INSPIRE THE WORLD WITH MY TESTIMONY. I WALKED AGAIN! #FINDAWAY ! pic.twitter.com/Puw9B09xcL
— COREY BORNER (@LILCOREY_TRILL) August 15, 2021
\"It was amazing being able to walk across the stage. It was actually a surprise. I told everyone that I had a special guest,\" Borner said.
For Borner, walking across the stage was a culmination of over a decade of work and only the beginning of his story.
\"I plan on continuing to be a motivational speaker and share my testimony to others,\" he said. \"I made a promise to myself in 2009 that I will always keep my story alive.\"
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Family/paralyzed-football-player-walks-graduation-stage-diploma/story?id=79498663","legacySlug":"/family/story/paralyzed-football-player-walks-graduation-stage-diploma-79498663","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"19:20","publishDate":"08-17-2021","updatedTime":"19:30","updatedDate":"08-17-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Corey Borner wears Ekso suit from Baylor Scott and White Health.","credit":"Baylor Scott and White Health","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/BaylorScottWhiteHealth_1629218429884_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"8/17/2021 19:20:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":79498663,"headline":"Paralyzed football player walks at graduation","mediaAssetTitle":"CoreyBorner_Moore","description":"Corey Borner never gave up. ","duration":"2:06","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/08/210815_gma_kiesh_843_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["79317453","79361832","79386894"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"August 6, 2021","headline":"7-year-old fights bullying with inspirational videos","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/year-fights-bullying-inspirational-videos-79317453","id":79317453,"image":{"alt":"7-year-old fights bullying with inspirational videos","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/inspirational-videos-7-year-old-influencer-01-ht-llr-210806_1628280709500_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Michelle Rocha ","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"August 9, 2021","headline":"Mom sprints to tackle toddler who ran onto field during Major League Soccer game","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/mom-sprints-tackle-toddler-ran-field-major-league-79361832","id":79361832,"image":{"alt":"Mom sprints to tackle toddler who ran onto field during Major League Soccer game","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/zaydek-carpenter-01-us-iwb-210809_1628525756813_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Sam Greene/The Enquirer via USA TODAY Network","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"August 11, 2021","headline":"5 tips to protect teens' mental health amid another pandemic school year","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/protect-teens-mental-health-school-year-begins-amid-79386894","id":79386894,"image":{"alt":"5 tips to protect teens' mental health amid another pandemic school year","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/high-school-students-01-nc-jc-210810_1628631139052_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Press via Newscom","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Paralyzed football player walks at graduation","description":"Corey Borner never gave up. ","duration":"2:06","uploadDate":"08-17-2021","publication":"08-17-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/08/210815_gma_kiesh_843_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/08/210815_gma_kiesh_843_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/paralyzed-football-player-walks-graduation-stage-diploma-79498663"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:family:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"family","title":"Paralyzed football player walks at graduation","pubTime":"15:20","pubDate":"08-17-2021","modTime":"15:30","modDate":"08-17-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":79498663,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Paralyzed football player walks at graduation","mediaAssetTitle":"CoreyBorner_Moore","videoId":79498663,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/family/story/paralyzed-football-player-walks-graduation-stage-diploma-79498663"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/79498663","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/79498663","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};