KEY POINTS:
Karl Gatoloai isn't the type of person to brag. But even his carefully chosen words, spoken in a soft, calm voice, can't hide the pride in his eyes when he talks of his graduation today.
Just over a decade after Mr Gatoloai, 27, was paralysed in a car crash in his native Samoa, he is graduating with a bachelor of commerce and a law degree from the University of Auckland.
Mr Gatoloai's one sadness at this happy time will be that his father, Aiolupotea Fia Gatoloai, will be missing from the ceremony. He died three months ago.
"Dad always wanted a son who does accountancy," said Mr Gatoloai. His father was also proud when his son got into law school.
Law became Mr Gatoloai's favourite discipline for its potential to bring change.
"I'm trying to explain without sounding too boastful," said the Birkdale resident. "You have that chance to make a difference, not just in your own life but in someone else's life."
After his accident he often wished for someone to be his advocate. He hopes now to do that for others.
In 1996, Mr Gatoloai, then 16, was driving his friends just after the end of school when the car and a truck collided. He was paralysed from the chest down, never to walk again.
The accident was a result of inexperience, he said. Relief came from seeing his friends walking away.
"It's a lot easier to swallow than if anyone else had carried the burden."
The crash cut short his plans to go to a university preparation year in Samoa and he instead came to New Zealand for spinal surgery.
Emotional times followed, and so did a battle with immigration officials over whether he could stay.
Mr Gatoloai gained citizenship in 2000. He took a course to ease back into the education system and, when he was accepted into university, he was so keen to start he enrolled in summer school.
"While everyone was at the beach, I was at school," said Mr Gatoloai. "I'd spent a few years away from school, so it was something I was dying to do."
Unable to afford a converted car, he was driven to university by his mother, Tofoi. He said the university was largely accessible by wheelchair and was improving.
Mr Gatoloai's injuries meant he needed a note-taker in class and a scribe during exams.
Following his long journey, Mr Gatoloai, husband to Vivian and father to 1-year-old Tilomai, is enrolled in a masters programme and looking for a job, ideally combining law and commerce.
