新葡京app State University 新葡京app Kari Harbath and her sister, current student Kassie, created a 奖学金基金 in memory of their mother, WSU alum Paula “Kim” McCorkle-Harbath, to give back to the community that helped them 新葡京app hardships.

他是支持家庭和社区的支柱。 现在，她的遗产将帮助其他华盛顿州立大学的学生实现他们的梦想。

他在免费公立特许学校奥格登预备学校工作。 She also volunteered for organizations like Grandfamilies, a Children’s Service Society program supporting families with a grandparent as a primary caregiver, and organized an annual meal for up to 1,200 low-income and unhoused people at Ogden’s Marshall White Center.

57岁的金女士在父亲遭遇金融诈骗的时候感到无助，于是她进入了韦伯州立大学，成为了一名老年人权益倡导者。 While working full-time at Ogden Prep, she earned her Bachelor of Integrated Studies 新葡京app in gerontology, sociology and women’s studies in 2016.

As a student, she shared her father’s story to advocate against the exploitation of senior citizens at the Utah State Capitol. In her final year at 新葡京app, she won the Civically Engaged Student Award from WSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning.

Tragically, Kim’s advocacy ended when she passed away in 2019. 她的女儿们在五年前以她的名字创建了金·麦考克尔-哈巴斯纪念奖学金基金。

“She was a great example of somebody who went to school at 新葡京app and used her experience to make the Ogden community a better place,” Kari said.

“She was always wearing her 新葡京app hat, she was always talking about 新葡京app, she knew everybody, she loved her professors.”

卡莉是家里第一个上韦伯州立大学的人，2015年毕业于市场营销和公共关系专业。 凯西目前在华盛顿州立大学学习运动和体育科学。

Their mother’s death happened along with a series of other hardships. 今天，他们很感激有机会回馈社会。

逆境中的力量

After her birth, Kari’s daughter, Sloan, was swiftly life-flighted from McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. 她在那里呆了两个月，接受了一系列与CHARGE综合征（一种影响器官系统的罕见疾病）相关的手术，并被诊断为失明和失聪。

早些时候，医疗专业人士描绘了一个黯淡的前景。 “At first, it was hard,” Kari said. “There were days where things felt really hopeless.”

卡莉和她的丈夫亚伦联系了医学专家，并联系了华盛顿州立大学的资源和犹他州聋哑人和盲人学校，他们意识到斯隆可以有一个丰富而有益的未来。

“She loves herself, she loves her school, she loves our community,” Kari said. “She’s an amazing little person and she’s going to grow up to be an amazing adult.”

斯隆6个月大的时候，金突然病倒了。

“We got a call that she had aspirated in her sleep and unexpectedly died,” Kari said. “It was devastating, and it was something that I think we didn’t think we were going to survive.”

不久之后，新冠肺炎疫情席卷了美国。

“We’re trying to protect Sloan, a highly, highly vulnerable human, and we’re all with throes of grief. Aaron was supporting all of us so intensely, and he was a wonderful, wonderful person 新葡京appout all of this,” Kari said.

2020年6月，Aaron意外自杀身亡。

生活就是给予

Kassie spoke at 新葡京app State’s 2021 commencement ceremony, sharing her family’s hardships and triumphs over them. “I could just feel the energy,” Kassie说。 “It was a really powerful experience.”

四年后，她住在离卡莉几步之遥的地方，帮助照顾斯隆。 Kassie’s exercise and sport science knowledge has helped the family to be more active and eat healthier. Kari是Pluralsight的资深作者参与经理，Pluralsight提供在线学习技术技能的平台。

Through hardships, they’ve both learned life isn’t about portraying a particular image to the world. It’s about making a difference.

“We could have taken this situation and just shut down and guarded ourselves from the world, but Kari and I really took it and said, ‘What can we do to make a change and make a difference?” Kassie说。

在Kim去世之前，Kassie告诉她，她注意到发圈又流行起来了。 Kim sewed a handful that Kassie gifted to friends and donated to Primary Children’s Hospital NICU nurses who cared for Sloan and other babies.

After Kim’s death, the sisters sold scrunchies, using their mother’s sewing machine, to raise money. They named the operation Sloan’s Scrunchies and sold them at farmer’s markets and community events.

The money raised went to the 奖学金基金, which still needs about $15,000 to become fully funded and available to students. 一旦获得资助，它将支持GPA达到2.0或更高的学生，并优先考虑像Kim这样表现出服务承诺并从事跨学科研究的非传统学生。

除了奖学金，奥格登第26街的卡夫商业咖啡馆外还有一张长凳，以纪念金，他经常在完成作业的同时去咖啡馆喝茶。

Kari和Kassie希望，就像长椅一样，奖学金将很快成为Kim和她对奥格登社区的承诺的永久提醒。