Family, friends and former colleagues of Taylor Creel Stinson have organized their efforts to create the Taylor Stinson Scholarship Fund, in memory of the Alabama graduate. She passed away last week after a bad reaction to an antibiotic.
Stinson was the first one from her family to go to college, which was a goal of hers and something that brought her family pride. The scholarship foundation in her name will be dedicated to other students who are the first generation in their family to go to college. The scholarship fund was originally catalyzed by Stinson’s parents and cousin and then turned into a full-fledged effort lead by her family and friends. Those helping with the scholarship fund have made it a point of emphasis to commemorate Stinson’s life by improving others’.
Stinson graduated from UA in 2014 with a degree in Kinesiology and recently finished graduate school at Gulf Coast State University. Her motivation for this degree was to one day get into the physical therapy field after she saw how it benefited her cousin, who faced disabilities of her own. She recently married Garrett Stinson, who has immersed himself in helping with the scholarship program after her passing.
“The fund was a way to preserve the memory of her selfless acts for generations to come by helping incoming, first-generation students,” Garrett said. “The whole family has been extremely proactive in their efforts to get Taylor’s story out to inspire young people to take steps that no one else in their family has taken before.”
The family and scholarship foundation team are now devoting their energy to getting the word out about their efforts to help others. They have turned to social media, newspapers, and word of mouth to spread the word of the scholarship. Shelby Hadden, who runs PR for the scholarship fund, sees the immense benefit that this scholarship could potentially provide to students. She, like the rest of those devoted to the cause, believes that first-generation students have a very unique opportunity.
“College is challenging and expensive for everyone. I can’t imagine how how intimidating it must be for someone whose parents or family members didn’t do it themselves,” said Hadden. “This scholarship will help offset a lot of costs, which will allow a student to focus on his/her/their academics and help set them up for success.”
Those close to Stinson understood how seriously she took college. Hayden, along with Abby Dunaway, her best friend and college roommate, both attested to the level of gratitude first-generation students experience when they get the opportunity to advance their education. According to Dunaway, Stinson’s parents were very proud of the dedication of their daughter and overjoyed at having a member of the family go to college.
“Taylor wanted to be able to help other families and make a difference just as others had done for her cousin,” said Dunaway. “Taylor has an extremely tight-knit family so the opportunity to be a part of something that would eventually be bigger than herself made her family burst with pride.”
Stinson is from Elba, Alabama which is located in Coffee County. The scholarship set up in her name is specifically designed to benefit first-generation students from that county. Current efforts by the Taylor Stinson Scholarship Fund include the continued promotion of the foundation and crowdfunding, but they are especially focused on getting the scholarship endowed, meaning the scholarship would be a part of the University as long as the University exists.
If you are interested in donating to the scholarship, visit the GoFundMe page under “Taylor C Stinson Scholarship Fund” or go to http://alumni.ua.edu/scholarships. Regardless of whether they reach their target number, members of the foundation have promised to still give all money to the University to help first-generation students.
