A Dutchess County man is using a traumatizing event to fuel his efforts to positively impact his community and beyond.

John Galloway Jr. experienced something no 14-year-old ever should - a stabbing.

"I had my backpack on, I had a hoodie on and a jacket like, it went through everything, like that's when I got stabbed...these are wounds that can kill," he says.

He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, telling News 12 he was walking home from Beacon High School on Halloween nearly a decade ago when he and two others were stabbed and rushed to a hospital.

Galloway says he did not like the way his incident was handled by school and law enforcement, so the basketball star is using it to be a game-changer in his community, especially with his recent appointment to Beacon's Human Relations Commission.

"We focus on the climate of the community, whereas someone has an issue or complaint, about the city, we handle that. with care...I'm not turning an eye to anything because that's what happened to me," he says.

Galloway has also been participating in recent protests about civil injustices and began a nonprofit with a group of childhood friends, called The Label, to help positively support youth.

Galloway says his eyes are set on the school board in the future.