2013 Tory Cantu Scholarship Presentation Speech given at Rice High School on June 8, 2013 Good Morning. My name is Robyn Kittrell and I’m Tory Cantu’s Mom. I am honored and so very proud to be awarding The Tory Cantu Spirit Scholarship this morning. This year we are awarding 2 $1,000 scholarships. This scholarship is awarded to a Senior cheerleader who has not only kept their average above an 80 in every subject for 4 years but has also shown leadership qualities that goes above and beyond. 3 years ago Tory was taken from us suddenly and unexpectedly. The Rice ISD along with the community showered us with love and support that made a tragic time somewhat bearable. Tory loved cheerleading. She was involved in competition cheer and tumbling since she was 4. This scholarship was started as our way to say Thank You to Rice for all that you have done for Tory and our family and to keep Tory’s memory alive. Tory will never be able to go to college or for us to see her reach her dreams but this scholarship lets us follow and share someone else’s dreams and to help in a small way. This year we had 5 applicants. Talk about a tough decision and not to mention that the Class of 2013 the top 3 in class rankings are cheerleaders. I guess they have proved that they’re not just a pretty face. This year is very emotional. I know both of these young ladies personally who will be receiving this scholarship. I have watched both of them grow from little girls to beautiful young ladies ready to take on the world. I couldn’t be more proud to be able to not only recognize them but to also share in this special day with them and their families. The first recipient had me and my husband in tears while reading her application. She wrote that Tory is the reason she has chosen to become a nurse. She said she would never forget watching Tory in the hospital fighting and the way the nurses treated Tory made her realize that helping those in need is what she wanted to do. She didn’t realize that by writing those few words that she has already helped her first patient. That patient being me because being able to give her this scholarship it has allowed me to not look at Tory’s death as a tragedy but now as a life changing moment. Healing comes in many forms and God has shown me this one. I am so happy to announce that the first recipient for The 2013 Tory Cantu Spirit Scholarship is Sarah Gent. The second recipient I have known since the day she was born. Tory and her had a friendship that reminded me of the bond that I shared with her Mother. They could just sit around and do absolutely nothing but had the time of their lives just being together. Those memories I will always cherish because not many people are able to make childhood memories with their bestfriend and be able to watch their daughters become bestfriends. The second recipient of the 2013 Tory Cantu Spirit Scholarship is Camey Metcalfe.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:48:06 +0000