Friends Establish the Whitney Luckett Watkins Scholarship Endowment
Whitney Luckett Watkins ’92 was an honor student, captain of the cheerleading squad, and MVP on the basketball and track teams. She went on to graduate from Rhodes College, marry her high school sweetheart, start a family, and develop a successful career turning “fixer-uppers” into lovely homes.
But of Whitney’s many accomplish- ments, what people will remember most was her exceptional character. When 32-year-old Whitney lost her heroic battle with melanoma on Valentine’s Day 2007, she left behind her family and a community devastated by her loss but inspired by her example.
Determined that her memory will live on at St. Andrew’s, Whitney’s many friends are working together to create an endowed scholarship in her name. While Whitney was an outstanding student and gifted athlete, the merit-based Whitney Luckett Watkins Scholarship will honor a student who exemplifies another of Whitney’s traits – her spirit.
“Whitney left a big footprint in such a positive way,” says Jason Watkins, Whitney’s husband of almost nine years. “She took all the bad and turned it into good. It would be a tragedy not to let that influence survive her.
“Our son, Web, and daughter, Douglas, didn’t have the chance to get to know their mother as well as some other people did,” Jason continues. “It will be remarkable for them to go to the school where Whitney was so well-loved and to have that reminder that their mother is being honored. This scholarship will make Whitney real to them in a tangible way and remind them of what a special person their mother was.”