The family of Andrea "Andi" McKenna has established a scholarship to memorialize her commitment to Texas A&M and special education. The Andrea "Andi" McKenna '08 Memorial Scholarship in Special Education was established in honor of McKenna by her parents, Sissy and John McKenna, and siblings, Lauren and Johnny.
The scholarship will award $1,250 annually to a college junior or senior pursuing a degree in special education. The recipient in 2007 is Julie Ness.
After McKenna died, her family established a scholarship to honor her life and dedication to assisting those with special needs. The McKennas also donated her Aggie Ring to represent the Class of 2008 in the Association of Former Students' ring collection.
"We decided to give this scholarship because Andi loved helping people, and we would like for her to still be able to help people even after her death," Johnny McKenna said. "We also made it so she could help special education children after her death as well, by giving the scholarship to a special education major. I think Andi would like knowing that she helped someone else do what she loved to do, and knowing that she could help people in her death and in life."
"Texas A&M has been in all of our lives since we were born," Johnny said.
The McKennas, Andi included, grew up going to College Station almost every fall weekend for football games and other activities.
"We knew more about Aggie tradition than most students by the time we were 13," he said. "A&M means everything to our family, aside from, you know, our family."
"Andi was the most amazing person in her line of work," Johnny said. "I worked at Camp Summit with her and she had a radiating glow when we were there."
Both of Andi's parents graduated from A&M - Sissy in 1979 and John in 1978. Lauren is a student at Sam Houston State University and Johnny hopes to follow in Andi's footsteps by transferring to A&M and majoring in special education.
McKenna demonstrated her commitment to special needs early on - at 15, she started work as a day camp counselor and worked at Camp Discovery for two years. In high school, McKenna acted as president and key founder of Best Buddies, a mentoring program for people with special needs. Then during her senior year, she volunteered in an elementary school special education class.
"I think she just really enjoyed helping people," Johnny said. "She demonstrated her love for special education by [making it] the center of her life."
At Texas A&M, McKenna was involved in Kappa Theta Beta Catholic Sorority and was elected president in April. She participated in Lohman Learning Community, Project Sunshine and was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church.
McKenna, a special education student from Galveston and a member of A&M Class of 2008, died in a car accident in Fort Worth in May. She was on her way to Camp Summit, a special needs camp for people ages 6 through 60 in Argyle, Texas. It would have been her third year at Camp Summit.
Be the first to comment on this article!