After all, Irving –
who commuted daily to downtown Orlando from Marion County during his
three years of studying law – uses a wheelchair to move about life. But that is not the half of what makes him
one extraordinary law graduate.
The 37-year-old Philadelphia native was charged with and
convicted of three felonies at the age of eighteen. In addition, at 24, he was shot and paralyzed
and has suffered from physical issues because of his paralysis ever since.
“Throughout the mental, physical and financial burdens of being a law student, coupled with the obstacles my background carries, somehow, I made it to the end,” Irving said. “I’ll be the first to say that I never expected this outcome, or to be at this place and time.”
Irving joined nearly 130 candidates for the juris doctor
degree when they were individually hooded before a host of family, friends and
FAMU College of Law alumni. The event
was the highlight of a law school journey that has been wrought with complications
for Irving.
“I have been suffering from inflammation in my arms and
muscle spasms since 2015,” Irving said.
“There have been days when I could not make it to law school because of
these problems – and lots of days where I had to will myself to and through
classes at school.”
Irving credits FAMU Law Professors Beverly Perry and Richard
Hurt with going the extra mile during his law school experience. Perry, he says, would offer words of
encouragement when it was needed most, and assisted in directing him to
external help when his health issues were problematic. “She believed in me when
I didn’t believe in myself,” Irving said.
At times, Irving would sit in his car for extended moments
when severe muscle spasms made it nearly impossible to transfer to his
wheelchair – and he would sometimes fall in his attempts. He says Hurt would see his struggles
first-hand and lend assistance.
“Most people would assume that my life is fine except that
I’m confined to a wheelchair,” expressed Irving. “Getting up every day and making it to and through
school is literally a struggle for me.”
Overcoming is nothing new for Irving, who just prior to his
convictions and paralysis attended Menchville and Denbigh High Schools in
Newport News, Virginia. He dropped out
in the 10th grade, and obtained his GED in Hampton City Jail.
He eventually relocated to Florida and went on to obtain an
associate’s degree from the College of Central Florida, and bachelor’s degree
from the University of Central Florida – all while commuting from Ocala due to
limited housing options because of his past.
His next obstacle would be law school.
“Law has intrigued me since I was around eighteen,” Irving
said. “I was on probation around that
time and would sit and watch circuit court hearings when I would arrive early
to visit with my probation officer.”
Irving entered law school in August 2014, choosing FAMU
College of Law because of its proximity to Orlando’s federal and circuit
courts. As a FAMU law student, he
participated in the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, the FAMU law student
chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Jesse J. McCrary Chapter
of the Black Law Students Association.
He achieved the dean’s list during his second year of law
school, and logged more than 756 hours of legal service to the public while
completing the Guardian Ad Litem, mediation and homelessness legal
clinics. He hopes to practice in
electronic discovery, mediation or disability law.
“Because I am paralyzed, disability law is meaningful to me
and I have personally experienced the struggles that people with disabilities
experience first-hand,” Irving said.
“Some lawyers may avoid disability cases that involve ADA issues because
there may not be much money involved, but I care personally, and to me it’s
about more than the money.”
Despite the struggles, Irving has come to embrace his
present, and has joined more than 1,200 FAMU College of Law alumni as a
graduate of one of the most diverse law schools in the nation.
“I cried the other day because who would have thought after
all that I’ve seen and been through, I’m about to obtain my juris doctor
degree,” Irving said. “I cried and hated the sight of my wheelchair at first,
and now I realize if not for it, I would have been dead, or in jail.”
Irving acknowledges his bar clearance and career options may
be difficult hurdles to clear, but he approaches the next chapter of his life
just as he has the others – with determination.
“My advice to others: we cannot turn back the hands of time
to correct the mistakes that we made in life,” he said. The only thing we can do is move
forward. Bottom line, don’t give up.”