Peggy
and Amos Floyd of Fredericksburg recently presented Schreiner University
with a $25,000 gift in loving memory of their daughter Kayla Marie
Floyd.
This gift will be used to fund the Kayla Marie Floyd Endowed Nursing
Scholarship, an annual scholarship to be awarded to a Schreiner University
student in either the vocational nursing certification program or
the R.N. bridge nursing program.
Kayla Floyd was killed by an underage drunk driver on October 26,
1997, in Austin, Texas. She was 24 years old. The driver was sentenced
to serve three years for Kayla’s death, but served only two.
Kayla was a graduate of Schreiner’s Vocational Nursing Program.
At the time of her death, Kayla was serving others through practicing
wound care for geriatric and AIDS patients, and was a student in the
registered nursing program at Austin Community College.
Kayla Marie Floyd was a name well-known in Central Texas in spite
of her young age. She was a Gillespie County Fair Duchess, had attended
modeling school, and was three times the representative from Central
Texas to the Miss Texas U.S.A. Pageant.
Among many other places, Kayla is memorialized on a web site dedicated
to people who have donated their organs after death. Her family has
created a beautiful quilted piece in her honor that is featured on
the web site, along with these heartfelt words; “Kayla was the
youngest of four children and she pursued life with a vivacious passion.
She often talked about donating her organs, but because the impact
causing her death was so horrific, she was only able to donate her
heart valves, skin and some bones. Her family feels uplifted each
time they think that part of Kayla still lives in an 8 year old boy
who has her heart valve.”
Her family continues to touch the lives of others in memory of their
daughter by making gifts in her name and by testifying before the
Texas state legislature, hoping to prevent other families’ loved
ones from suffering the same fate as their daughter at the hands of
drunk drivers.
An example of Amos’ and Peggy’s tireless work is the holiday
law enforcement campaign, dedicated to Kayla Marie’s memory,
conducted by Travis County during the 2003 holiday season and continued
for the 2004 holidays.
Last year on Kayla Marie’s birthday, December 27, drivers in
Travis County who were stopped by a law enforcement officer for any
reason received a flyer with Kayla Marie’s photograph reminding
them of the consequences of drinking and driving.
If you would like more information about setting up a scholarship
in memory or in honor of someone you love, please contact Mark Tuschak
at mctuschak@schreiner.edu or telephone (830) 792-7215.
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