Perseverance
She fought for two years and eight months and kept encouraging everybody around her.
PRESENTED BY KAREN'S WAY
THE KAREN DAVIS LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP
Karen always knew exactly what she wanted to become. She said it out loud as a girl and then spent her whole life being it. This is for students who are trying to do the same thing while carrying something heavy.
IN DEVELOPMENT
The Karen Davis Legacy Scholarship is being built. No applications are open, no awards have been made, and no award amounts have been set. Our eligibility criteria and selection procedures are under review to make sure they are objective, documented and nondiscriminatory before a single application is accepted.
Who it's for
The scholarship is intended for students whose lives have been affected by breast cancer. As drafted, that includes students who lost a parent or guardian to the disease, students with a parent or guardian currently in treatment, students carrying caregiving responsibilities at home, students who have faced a diagnosis themselves where age-appropriate, and students who have given meaningful service to families facing cancer.
This is a draft framework under review. The final eligibility language will be published before applications open, and it will be the version that governs.
What we're looking for
Six things Karen actually did. The criteria will be written to recognize them in someone else.
Faith
She accepted Christ as a girl and never let go of Him, quietly, all the way through.
Service
She started a safe-rides chapter at seventeen because somebody needed one.
Family
She held her son, her parents, her sisters and her brother together and made it look easy.
Character
She was careful with other people's money and reckless with her own.
Leadership
First chair, honor society, shortstop — she led without needing to be in front.
How selection will work
The process is being documented before it is used. As designed, it includes written objective criteria published in advance, a scoring rubric applied to every application the same way, blind review of essays where practical, and a selection committee that discloses conflicts of interest in writing.
Enrollment will be verified with the school, and funds will be disbursed to the institution rather than to the student where that is appropriate. No member of the selection committee may score an applicant they are related to or otherwise connected with.