Flesh-Eating Bacteria Survivor To Give GGC Commencement Address

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA -- A Gwinnett County native who lost her hands and feet to flesh-eating bacteria will give the keynote address at Georgia Gwinnett College's commencement ceremony on May 12.

Aimee Copeland will address the more than 400 GGC students receiving their bachelor's degrees at the ceremony, which will be held at 10 a.m. on the college's main lawn.

On May 1, 2012, Copeland was injured in a homemade zip-line accident, where she fell into a creek and cut her leg severely.

In the process, she picked up a typically fatal bacterium from the water that eats away the skin. The infection caused a condition called "necrotizing fasciitis," more widely known as "flesh-eating disease."

As a result, she lost her left leg, her right foot, and both hands.

"I am blessed to have the capacity to share my experience with others and have a chance to improve the quality of someone else’s life," Copeland said in a news release from the college.

Since her accident and battle with the disease, Copeland has completed a master's degree from the University of West Georgia in humanistic psychology and is now pursuing a second master's degree from Valdosta State University in social work.

Her goal is to start her own practice specializing in wilderness therapy for people with disabilities.

The May 12 ceremony will mark several firsts for Georgia Gwinnett, which was founded in 2006.

Graduating will be the school's first class of bachelor-degreed nursing students and first chemistry major.

Four U.S. Army ROTC cadets will be commissioned as part of the ceremonies, including GGC's first two female cadets.

(Photo courtesy Georgia Gwinnett College)