BRYAN COUNTY, Okla. (KXII) – This year marks the 10-year-anniversary of the establishment of the ‘Trooper Nicholas Dees Memorial Scholarship’ and the deadline is less than a week away.
Shelley Russell’s son, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Nicholas Dees, truly loved what he did.
“He loved that brown shirt and he loved to protect and serve the state of Oklahoma,” Russell said.
It was a dream come true for both Dees and his family, but that dream turned into a nightmare in Jan. 2015 when Dees was hit and killed by a man who was texting and driving.
“He had been driving about an hour and a half, almost two hours,” Russell said. “He killed Nicholas on his 189th text that night.”
For the past 10 years, Russell has honored his memory in every way she knows how.
One of those ways is a $3,000 scholarship in his name.
Established in 2015, the award is available for Choctaw students attending college in Oklahoma who are accepted into or enrolled in a criminal justice-related degree plan.
Each year, she hopes it will continue to inspire kids like Dees to follow their passion.
“He only got to do what he loved for 18 months before he was killed,” Russell said. “But I know, even if he knew it was the end, he would have went there anyway.”
She also hopes it will continue to raise awareness about the dangers of texting and driving.
“Please people put those phones down,” Russell said. “It’s not a matter of if you’re going to mess up, it’s when. You’re not only going to hurt yourself or kill yourself, you’re going to hurt somebody else or kill somebody else.”
The deadline to apply for the scholarship is Monday, Mar. 31.
For more information on how to qualify the scholarship or how to apply, click here.
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