Rising Above: Parents honor daughter through memorial scholarship

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – It’s been two years since a Herbert Hoover student lost her life in a car crash.

“She didn’t put herself first, she always went above to try and help others,” said Emily Strickland, Leah Strickland’s mother.

Leah Strickland was just 14 years old and a freshman at Herbert Hoover High School where she played soccer and planned to run track.

Her parents, still dealing with the tragic loss, are continuing to keep her memory alive.

“She was really quiet, soft-spoken. [She] didn’t think she had friends. She played sports,” said Michael Strickland, Leah’s father. “If she just knew the impact, she had on people’s lives just because of her continuous smile.“

The sudden loss hit the Elkview community hard, but Leah’s legacy traveled far beyond the Kanawha Valley as tributes poured in from across the mountain state.

“We are just extremely proud of her, and we can’t imagine what she would’ve done in this world,” Michael Strickland said.

To celebrate Leah’s life, her parents started a memorial scholarship in her name. It’s awarded to a graduating Herbert Hoover senior who meets what they call “Leah’s Standards.”

“The criteria is pretty steep. It was a 4.0, you have to letter in two sports, and you have to have 150 hours of community service,” Michael Strickland said.

The family hosts an annual fundraiser, “Leah’s Legacy Run” to raise money for the scholarship. This year, hundreds of runners laced up their shoes to participate in the 5K run, 2-mile walk and kid’s fun run.

For Leah’s parents, dealing with the grief that comes with losing a child is still hard, but keeping her memory alive through events like “Leah’s Legacy Run” helps them find a renewed purpose.

“We look at life very differently now, like we don’t take anything or any day for granted,” Emily Strickland said.

“If you have someone at your home tell them you love them every day because you just don’t know when it’s going to end and that’s what you have to get out of this,” Michael Strickland said.

Her parents, now turning tragedy into tribute and showing others that even in grief, you can rise above.

If you’d like to donate to the memorial scholarship, you can head to their website .

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