ST PAUL, Minn., June 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Just one week after the White House Summit on Safe Sports Today, the Terrill Foundation announced that Kayla Meyer of New Prague, Minnesota, has been awarded the 2014 Terrill Scholarship for community leadership, academic persistence, and commitment to pursue her education and career goals. The only national scholarship of its kind, the Terrill Foundation awards scholarships to high school students with neurologic injury or disease for the past six years. The announcement comes just one week after President Obama hosted a Healthy Sports and Safe Kids Concussion Summit.
Kayla, a senior at New Prague High School, plans to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato to study education and communications. As a 7th grader, she suffered her first concussion from a seemingly minor fall during a hockey practice. Her second concussion occurred less than a year later during another hockey drill. Despite living with constant headaches, light sensitivity, and nausea, she persevered, even taking online classes to ensure she could graduate on time.
Since her concussions, Kayla dedicated herself to becoming an advocate for other youth with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). She volunteers for the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance, and started Connections4Concussions, the first support group in Minnesota for youth with concussions. Additionally, she was a leader in the successful 2011 effort to pass the "Youth Concussion Bill," developing "return to play" and other protocols for youth sports concussion management.
"I have been placed on a path I could not have imagined for myself," Kayla said about her TBI. "It is part of my life, but I won't let it define or control me. This funding will help me achieve my goal to earn a teaching degree while attending Mankato State University. I want to help other kids reach their full potential."
The Terrill Foundation honors the memory of Dr. Terrill Mast. For the seven years before his death, Dr. Mast lived with the affects of brain injury. Each year, the Terrill Scholarship is given to a high school senior affected by neurologic disease or brain injury. For more information about the Terrill Scholarship or to donate to the Terrill Foundation, visit www.TerrillFoundation.org.
SOURCE The Terrill Foundation
