MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Transforming tragedy into something positive.
“She will never get the chance to go college, but being able to help someone with their future means a lot.”
Kellen Barfield is talking about her niece, 14-year-old Gabby Harris.
She was killed while washing dishes at her grandmother’s house in Whitehaven back in January, the killer was later arrested.
“We are still trying to get back to some type of normalcy. It’s been really hard,” Barfield said.
Reaves Law Firm, where Barfield works, wants to honor and remember the teen by giving away scholarships to five students at five Mid-South high schools.
Each student will get $1,000.
Barfield says it does’t bring closure to their family, but any positivity helps with grieving.
“When someone wants to honor a family member, especially when it was such a tragedy, it is really amazing. And to get something out of this and help someone else with Gabby’s future being taken away, you really can’t put into words how much it means to me and my family,” she said.
We spoke with Harris’ mother via phone and she tells us her daughter would’ve wanted this for her community.
“I think her legacy will live on being the child that she was. She was a happy person, and she looked forward to college,” her mother said. “She wanted to go to a performing arts school in New York.”
Harris also started her own scholarship fund at First South Credit Union and says several people have already donated.
“It keeps me from being so sad, even though I know I have moments. But it makes me glad to know that there’s some people out there who’s on our team and considering positive change,” the mother said.
This isn’t the first year, Reaves Law Firm is giving scholarships to students. In fact, Gabby’s aunt says they do it every year but this year they wanted to honor 14-year-old Gabby Harris by helping five students get to college.
If you’re a student at Whitehaven, Freedom Prep, Hillcrest, Fairley or Westwood High School, you can submit your information and a one or two page paper about how you’ll use your degree to better serve the Memphis community to scholarships@beyourvoice.com.
The deadline is July 2.
You must have some type of financial need to be interested in the legal field.
