Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Scholarship honoring Meg Herndon to be presented next fall

Monday, August 19, 2013
Meg Herndon's brother, sister and mother at the Cardinal game on July 23. Submitted photo.

To honor Meg Herndon, a Southeast Missouri State University nursing student and soccer player who died in September, her family sold Cardinal's tickets to raise money for an endowed scholarship at Southeast.

Her family had a goal to sell more than 500 tickets to the Cardinals vs Phillies game at Busch Stadium on July 23, which would have been Herndon's 22nd birthday.

Herndon's mother, Cindi Silvey, said that they chose to honor Herndon at a Cardinal game because going to games was something she enjoyed doing with her family when she returned home from school.

"We sold the tickets for $20, and we only got them for $9," Silvey said.

Just shy of 1,100 people showed up to support the Meg Herndon Scholarship fund. Since they sold more than 500 tickets, there was a ceremony before the game to honor Herndon. Both her brother and sister threw a first pitch at the game in honor of their late sister.

"I thought it would be family there, but then I realized how many people there really was," said Ali Bauer, a teammate and friend of Herndon. "It was awesome."

All one thousand plus fans held up signs during the top of the fifth inning that read, "Impossible is nothing," which was a motto that Herndon lived by. Herndon had a tattoo with that phrase that explained who she was, especially with balancing nursing and soccer, Bauer said.

Herndon was hit by a truck while she was traveling to work in Cape Girardeau through the intersection of Sprigg Street and Normal Avenue on her scooter on Sept 9. She was brought to a hopsital in Cape Girardeau and then transported to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She died 11 days later.

Southeast soccer coach Heather Nelson approached the Herndon family to start an endowed scholarship in order to honor the former soccer star. Together they established a scholarship fund through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.

"It is a good practice for the soccer team to remember Meg," Silvey said. "It's an awesome idea."

Their goal was to initially raise $10,000, which is the minimum amount to start an endowed scholarship, but they exceeded that goal when they raised roughly $15,000 at the Cardinal game.

Silvey said that from various fundraisers and donations, the scholarship fund is around $20,000 to $22,000.

Southeast will present the scholarship to a female soccer player beginning next fall. Herndon's family will set the standards for the scholarship, but will not determine who is awarded the scholarship. Their standards will be for someone to have similar qualities and goals that Herndon had such as athletics, academic achievement and a sense of community, Silvey said.

On the anniversary of Herndon's death the girl's soccer team will host an alumni game at Southeast. The game will be held to honor Herndon and they will retire her No. 2 jersey.

Silvey said that they don't have any future plans at the moment to fundraise for the scholarship, but she is considering honoring Herndon at another Cardinals game next summer.

Anyone who wants to donate to the Meg Herndon Scholarship fund can email Silvey at Pray4Meg@gmail.com.

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