FITCHBURG — Jake Thibeault doesn’t shy away from sharing his story.
After being left paralyzed from the waist down after an on-ice collision during a hockey tournament in 2021, the Fitchburg native has asked not for sympathy anytime he has a platform. Rather, he’s used his unfortunate incident to inspire others to overcome, determined to one day walk again through grueling physical therapy.
This weekend, he’ll graduate from Babson College. And during the May 16 ceremony, Thibeault will deliver the student address to his peers and those gathered for Saturday’s the undergraduate commencement.
“College has been great and the people here have been great,” Thibeault said. “I could go on and on about Babson and my experience here, with how they’ve set me up and prepared me to do more things in life. It’s a journey and I think on Saturday one of the things I really want to emphasize is the power of what can be done when people come together. However you want to define success, when people have success in the world they do it with the help of others and hopefully to make the world around them a better place.”
Thibeault attended Fitchburg High and played hockey for the Fitchburg/Monty Tech co-op team before moving onto the world of prep schools and Milton Academy. The 22-year-old’s life was altered during a Labor Day hockey tournament in 2021 when a collision on the ice sent him head-first into the boards and left him with two fractured vertebrae in his back.
Since then, he’s been grinding to literally get back on his feet and spreading messages of positivity and hard work as a motivational speaker. Thibeault has been embraced by the hockey team at Babson, having met with head coach Jamie Rice on a recruiting visit just before his accident.
The opportunity to speak at his college graduation seems fitting.
In order to garner the spot at the commencement ceremony, Thibeault and others interested in speaking had to submit their speeches to a panel before actually delivering them for consideration.
“I still get nervous every time I speak, but it’s a good nervous because I really want to have someone take something away from what I say that they can go forward with,” said Thibeault, now a veteran of speaking engagements from his work with the Thomas E. Smith Foundation, which provides support for those living with paralysis. “I want to make sure I’m delivering the best message possibly can, maybe not for everyone, but for someone out there. This will definitely be the biggest crowd I’ve spoken to and I’m looking forward to it.
“It’s an honor to be able to speak at the ceremony.”
Come Saturday, Thibeault’s message will be a concise one that he hopes will resonate with many who are donning their caps and gowns. He’ll speak of the journey the graduates have undertaken together, putting a spotlight on overcoming adversity.
“I think every college student is unique in whatever challenges they face and the battles they have to get to a graduation,” Thibeault said. “Everyone goes through things to get from the end of one chapter to the start of the next and I think what’s great about reaching this point is we’ve all had different battles to get here. Some are more obvious than others, but in the end, there are so many people that have to overcome challenges to get to graduation.
“It’s an exciting celebration and a milestone. I’ve been gifted a new perspective in these last four-plus years and I’m hoping I can share that with the Babson community.”
Thibeault will graduate with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration degree, with a double concentration in finance in sports management. From there, he’s not exactly sure what the future holds, but there’s no challenge too big for Jake Thibeault.
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