Never before have I been surrounded by such highly motivated individuals who inspire me to be my best.
- Name
- Kale
- Class of
- 2022
- Neuroscience
- Entrepreneurship & Management
Everything changed for Kale Hyder during his freshman year of high school, when a severe spinal stroke left him paralyzed from the chest down.
“I went from being an extremely active athlete to being wheelchair-bound and unable to complete simple tasks, like sitting on the edge of my bed or even tying my shoes,” Hyder says.
Hyder’s doctors diagnosed him with transverse myelitis—paralysis that sets in after a viral infection—and gave him little hope that he’d walk again. But Hyder defied the odds: With physical therapy, restorative nerve transfer surgeries, and hard work, he regained the ability to walk and is now a member of the Class of 2022 at Johns Hopkins University.
Choosing Hopkins was a “no brainer,” Hyder says, because of the ongoing rehabilitation he receives at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Kennedy Krieger Institute while pursuing his passion for neuroscience at the university. On the pre-med track, Hyder wants to become a neurologist who treats people with spinal cord injuries while finding a cure for paralysis.
“Interacting with people who are leaders in their fields and are hungry to advance knowledge is what makes Hopkins special to me,” Hyder says. “Never before have I been surrounded by such highly motivated individuals who inspire me to be my best.”
