07/23/2026
For the second year in a row, determination and technology met on the graduation stage. With help from a wearable robotic exoskeleton, Jaiden Picot walked across the stage to receive his Executive MBA from Virginia Union University on May 9.
In August 2024, Picot’s life changed in an instant when a vehicle collision while riding an e-scooter resulted in a C4 spinal cord injury. Despite being paralyzed from the chest down, Picot refused to let the accident dictate his future. After completing his bachelor’s degree in 2025, he transitioned into graduate studies to fulfill a goal he set long before his injury.
“I didn't want my accident to have control over my life," Picot said. "I didn't want it to stop me from still achieving the goals that I set before. So that's why it was really important to me to achieve it, even though my life has changed.”
Since the injury, Picot participated in intensive rehabilitation at Sheltering Arms Institute. His journey from barely being able to move his arms to now earning a master’s degree serves as a testament to his resilience and the power of advanced rehabilitative medicine.
On graduation day, exercise physiologists assisted Picot as he utilized a robotic exoskeleton to walk across the stage of the Sydney Lewis School of Business. This milestone marks the completion of his Executive MBA, but for Picot, it is merely the beginning of his next professional chapter.
Members can read the full story in the June edition of The Virginian.
