Weeks before graduating high school, he was shot and paralyzed. 7 years later, he walked across the stage to accept his college degree

Seven years ago, the chance to walk at graduation was stripped from Khalil Watson, a Virginia man who was paralyzed from the neck down after being shot weeks before finishing high school.

But with help from physical therapists and a robotic exoskeleton, Watson, 25, rose from his wheelchair this past week and walked across the stage to receive his first college degree as a crowd cheered him on.

"It felt great being able to experience graduation in person since I wasn't able to do so in high school," Watson told CNN. "It kind of felt like a dream in a way."

On May 15, he earned an associate's degree in pre-social work from Reynolds Community College in Richmond.

"Seeing the people that I impacted comment underneath the (social media) post of me walking across the stage is what made me realize it was reality," he said.

Watson was shot in the neck while being robbed on May 26, 2016, about two weeks before his high school graduation ceremony, according to CNN affiliate, the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The alleged shooter was found dead in an unrelated incident a week later, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.