The University of Kentucky’s College of Health Sciences has launched a campaign initiative to fundraise for the scholarship honoring Madison Becknell.
Three months before walking the stage at her graduation, UK student Madison Becknell died in a car crash in Louisville after visiting her family.
Madison, a graduate of Oldham County High School, had been excelling in her studies at the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences, according to Sarah Kercsmar, department chair and associate professor in the Clinical Leadership and Management program.
“She was a light. Every time she came into a room, she lit it up,” Kercsmar said. “She was often the one sitting in the front row, eagerly engaged and, you know, put her hand up and was ready to go.”
From Sept. 16 to Sept. 30, the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences, in collaboration with the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, is spearheading a two-week campaign to encourage students to give back to the community.
This initiative aims to honor the memory of Madison and fundraise for the launch of a new scholarship in her name, according to the scholarship page.
Communications Director of the College of Health Sciences, Ryan Clark, said he advised and taught Madison for three years.
“I knew her as somebody who wanted to help people in the career that she was looking at, and I knew her as somebody who liked to solve problems, and when you put those two things together, I think she would have been really happy with this initiative,” Clark said.
He said Madison was always cheerful, and even when things went wrong or she had bad days, she remained optimistic.
Clark said he is still inspired by her attitude, saying that Madison’s legacy reminds him to stay positive and keep moving forward. He said he reminds himself to “live like Madison.”
Madison worked for Clark in the Clinical Leadership and Management school as a social media intern.
“Every time that I post on our social media … which is almost every day, I remember her because of what she set up for us,” Clark said.
As part of the campaign initiative, UK students were encouraged to perform acts of service or volunteer work. For every act of service or volunteer hour, family friends of the Becknells, Andy and Julie Stottmann, have pledged to donate $10 to her scholarship fund, up to $2,500, according to UKNow.
Participants are asked to document their service by taking a photo and sharing it on social media with the hashtags #UKLiveLikeMadison or #MadisonServes.
Madison’s parents, Debra and Bill Becknell, have expressed their support for the initiative, hoping that it will inspire the UK community to “live like Madison.”
Madison’s father, Bill, said the scholarship is aimed at helping juniors and seniors in the clinical leadership management program. He said candidates must be excited about the future and advancement of healthcare and advocate for their own health as well.
He said Madison was very engaged in making sure she was healthy. Bill described his daughter as a “proactive activist” when it came to her own health.
“She was also very interested in holistic medicine, treating the whole body, making sure you’re healthy overall, not just treating symptoms … but maintaining your health so your body can stay healthy over your lifetime,” Bill said.
Debra said that the Stottmans originally reached out to the college about getting started with a scholarship.
“They saw how interested she was in health care and just wanted to contribute because they wanted that to live on,” Debra said.
Madison had a legacy of compassion, according to her mother.
“She genuinely cared. She checked on people, she was very enthusiastic about life and she didn’t let anything get her down. We very rarely even saw her sad,” Debra said.
Debra said Madison used humor, joy and cheerfulness to turn things around.
“I really think that her positive attitude contributed to how she treated others and what an impact she made on her community and her work; it’s kind of unforgettable,” Debra said.
Service initiatives are underway, including a fundraiser and decorations at the Alpha Gamma Delta house on UK’s campus during the Family Weekend event.
Junior Paige Temple, an Alpha Gamma Delta member, said Madison was one of her best friends and who she “ran home to” on bid day.
With everyone’s support at the fundraiser, over $1,000 was raised at Family Weekend and the sorority plans to continue in fundraising efforts this week, according to Temple.
Other fundraisers through Alpha Gamma Delta have taken place such as a “Live like Madison” button sale in the Gatton Student Center and dinner at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, where 20% of food and beverage sales were donated to the scholarship when the fundraiser flyer is presented, according to Alpha Gamma Delta member Lindsey Taylor, who designed the buttons.
Temple said Madison had a “heart of gold” and that the sorority wants to carry on her “legacy of love.”
“I know it sounds cliche to say, but if anyone was a ray of sunshine, it was her,” Taylor said.
Debra said she loved seeing everyone come together, saying the efforts have been creative. She said the members even had custom t-shirts that read “Live like Madison.”
Bill said that some of their family and friends have committed to 10 years of funding the scholarship.
“We’re hoping to raise enough funds to get it to an ongoing, meaningful scholarship as an endowment,” Bill said.
Their goal is to raise enough funds to give out two $2,500 scholarships each year to individuals in the Clinical Leadership Management program, according to Bill.
“She had compassion for others and when they were struggling, were in need, she would reach out to them and this is a way for us to continue to do that in her honor,” Bill said.
