Day 296- Shayna’s Scholarship

Tonight the scholarship committee for Shayna’s scholarship meets. It’s been almost a year since her passing. Thanks to her friend Olivia and her mother Lisa, there is a scholarship fund in Shayna’s name. The intent is to give a deserving student a $1,000 scholarship to assist with college. We have collected enough money to fund it past the point where Shayna would have graduated. The target, for right now, is 15 years.

It’s hard to believe it’s almost exactly a year since Shayna stood in the gym at Lakota West and received all those honors. She was 16th in her class of over 600 and one of her good friends was 15. Shayna had her eye on taking her spot.  Shayna was a Girl Scout with her Silver Award under her belt and working on her Gold Award. She volunteered at the zoo and wanted to volunteer at the animal shelter, but they said she wasn’t old enough. She was a leader on her basketball team and had become a star on her volleyball team even with just one year experience. She wanted to go into veterinary medicine. Her art was becoming amazing. She was a better writer than I am.  So, when we set up the scholarship criteria, we wanted to make it so the person getting it embodied some of the same qualities Shayna had, but we lowered the bar a bit so we’d have enough recipients to choose from. Shayna is a tough act to follow.

I’m not on the committee, but I heard their deliberations and they found a worthy choice. I guess Tywana and I are going to present the scholarship. That’s going to be tough.  But, it’s a great tribute to Shayna’s legacy that she built in just 15 years and the impact she had on Lakota West in just two years there.  She’s still shining, just doing it from a different place.