BUTLER CO., Pa. (EYT) — Butler County Community College has named a scholarship in memory of Butler County native and Clarion University graduate Caitlyn Kaufman who was fatally shot while driving to work in Nashville on December 3.
According to the Butler Eagle, it was an outpouring of support that allowed the scholarship fund to grow so quickly in the weeks since Kaufman’s death.
Kaufman, 26, was discovered, deceased in her SUV, by a Metro Nashville officer who stopped around 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 3, to investigate why her vehicle was parked on the shoulder of the highway, believing it was a single-vehicle crash, according to police.
Devaunte L. Hill, 21, is currently in custody, facing charges for her murder.
Kaufman received her bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Clarion University in 2016 then went on to graduate from Butler County Community College (BC3) with a nursing degree in 2018.
Diane Kaufman, Caitlyn’s mother, formerly worked as a secretary in BC3’s emergency medical service training program. It was her former coworkers who first decided to contact the BC3 Education Foundation about creating a scholarship fund in Caitlyn’s memory.
According to the foundation’s executive director, Ruth Purcell, it was just a few days later that the Kaufman family reached out to BC3 to say they wanted to start an endowed scholarship fund.
BC3 has already received an outpouring of donations from employees, community members, and businesses and only needs an additional $5,000.00 to make The Caitlyn Kaufman ’18 Legacy Nursing Scholarship an endowment that would provide a scholarship to a nursing student every year.
The first scholarship in Kaufman’s name will be awarded to a student in the fall 2021 semester and will be at least $500.00.
The scholarship requirements are that the recipient must be enrolled as a sophomore in the nursing program with a grade-point average of at least 3.0. The scholarship will also give preference to students who participated in high school athletics.
Additional information on how to donate to the scholarship fund will be made available on the BC3 Education Foundation website at https://www.bc3.edu/about/support/foundation/index.html.
