He knows all too well the challenges often faced by students who are the first in their families to attend college. and later West Virginia, Onick is both a first-generation American and a first-generation college student. Born in Jamaica before moving to Washington D.C. “For us, if we can help a first-generation college student get that extra little bit of help to keep going, then we are doing something good.”įor Onick, the scholarship’s focus on first-generation students is rooted in personal experience. “We’ve both been pushed our entire lives to believe that higher education is extremely important,” Heather said. In addition to the bike foundation, Onick and Heather have established a memorial scholarship in Owen’s name which will support students in the programs they teach- social work, human services or hospitality, tourism, and event management-with a focus on first-generation college students. “We want to allow the children to ride around Troy University and be a part of something they may not always have been able to do, coming to a college campus and fostering a love of cycling at an early age,” Onick said.
Thanks to the generosity of many donors, they are well on their way to their goal of 100 bikes, with plans to give them out around Christmas and hold a charitable bike ride on the Troy Campus in the spring. Wanting other families to have cherished memories of riding together, the Lewis family launched O’s Cool Bike Foundation to collect balance bikes for children in the Troy Head Start program. “I grew up riding bikes my entire life, but I realize that not every kid is able to afford a bike.” “Owen started riding a balance bike at 17 months, and by the time he was two-and-a-half he was balancing and moving towards a regular bike,” Onick said. Two-year-old Owen passed away in April of this year, and when his parents look back at his life, his early love of bikes is a cherished memory. Now, Owen’s parents-Troy University professors Onick and Heather Lewis-are working to ensure that love carries forward into the lives of others through a pair of philanthropies: the Owen Wayne Lewis Memorial Scholarship at Troy University and O’s Cool Bike Foundation. Always ready with a hug and eager for the next ride on his “cool bike.” Although Owen Lewis’s time on Earth was cut tragically short, it was brimming with love.
0 kommentar(er)
