MURRAY - When Murray State University nursing faculty member Nancy Armstrong learned that Marshall County High School student Bailey Holt had wished to be a nurse, her heart started to speak to her.
Holt died in a shooting earlier this year at the campus in Draffenville, and Armstrong learned about her career aspirations a few days after the Jan. 23 shooting. She said she wanted to wait for the right time to approach Holt's family with an idea she had hatched: to name a scholarship in Holt's honor at Murray State. Thursday afternoon, Holt's mother, Secret, and her aunt, Tracy Tubbs, came to Murray to present $5,000 for the scholarship program, which came from various fundraising activities. Combined with donations from several Murray State nursing students and other groups, that scholarship has moved that total to $8,500.
"My first thought was, 'What can we do for the school or the families?' However, a nurse from the area I knew through the Kentucky Nursing Association said everything was being taken care of," said Armstrong, who saw a TV interview with Secret in which she told of Bailey's dream to be an obstetrics nurse. "So I began thinking, (the scholarship) was something we could do, but I decided to wait with trying to get it started because I didn't want to bother the family at that time.
Eventually, the opportunity to talk with Holt's family presented itself. Within a few weeks, the KNA and the Murray State School of Nursing had come together to create the scholarship in honor of Holt, who though just 15, had already set herself on her career path.
"She would've been amazing," Secret said Thursday. "If you didn't know Bailey, one of the first things you would have learned is that she was compassionate and a helper, and obstetrics would've fit her so well. That is because nurses who are in that are compassionate and helpers, just like she was
"We are so blessed to have this scholarship that has been established in her honor, and it's wonderful that this will go to a Marshall County student that is coming here. Now, these students can take her legacy and walk with her.
Several current Murray State nursing students who are alumni of Marshall County High School were present for Thursday's presentation.
"It's amazing to see them here today, and it means the world to us for them to be here to share in this," Secret said. "The support of the whole community has been tremendous. I can't say enough good things for how people have rallied around us. With this, though, Bailey would be so proud.
The presentation at Waterfield was the final stop for Murray State regents who took a walking tour of the campus after their annual retreat had ended earlier in the day. Regents Chair Susan Guess was part of that group
"This is an opportunity to keep her memory alive," Guess said. "It is our deep honor to have the chance to honor her and we hope others will step up to honor her as well.
Thursday's ceremony was full of smiles, hugs and tears from many in the crowd, including Armstrong.
"I can't help myself," she said, feeling a combination of sorrow that Bailey died so young, but also happiness at how the scholarship has grown. "The truth is I would've been excited if this would've raised $500 or even $1,000 for a one-time scholarship. This is so much higher than that and there's a chance that it's going to go even higher. It just means so much to see something like this doing so well, and we are so grateful to the family for this gift today.
Armstrong said that if donations reach $25,000, the scholarship will achieve endowment status, meaning it would be renewable. She said that is the Holt family's plan.
Murray State said scholarship recipients must be graduates of Marshall County High School and either admitted to Murray State's bachelor of science in nursing program or graduates of West Kentucky Community and Technical College who have been admitted to the RN-to-BSN program at Murray State. Preference shall be given to students who were members of what was formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America, now known as Future Health Professionals.
Anyone interested in making a financial gift to the Bailey Holt Memorial Nursing Scholarship can visit murraystate.edu/giving to make a secure gift online. Checks, made payable to the MSU Foundation, should include "Bailey Holt Scholarship" in the subject/memo line, and can be mailed to Murray State's Office of Development at 200 Heritage Hall, Murray, KY 42071. Individuals can also call toll-free at 1-877-282-0033 to give.
