This February marks the first year of a memorial scholarship created for Andrew “Andy” Keithley, former Lafayette student who passed away in a car accident Dec. 2015. The Andrew D. Keithley Make It Count Scholarship (ADKMIC) is named after Keithley’s constant example of making every day count.

The scholarship application is due Feb. 20 and can be found at adkmic.org. The applicants must be current Lafayette seniors, US citizens, have a 3.5 GPA, plan to attend college in the fall and be involved in a religious organization. In addition to these requirements, an essay ranging from 500 to 750 words should be turned in with the application detailing how they “make it count.”

Keithley was a member of Lafayette’s basketball, volleyball and swimming teams. Keithley and Hayden Bollinger, senior, were on many sports teams in their years of friendship. Bollinger still wonders how he can “make it count” like Keithley always had.

“My favorite memory of Andy was when we were at a volleyball tournament and he just started laughing out of nowhere. We all looked at him so confused and he was laughing so hard he couldn’t even tell us why he was laughing,” Bollinger said. “About thirty seconds later he just turns his phone to us to reveal a picture of a guy who had gotten a pencil stuck in his arm. Finally, he was able to regain his breath and he tells us ‘dude doesn’t even know how to pencil’ and we all laughed. It was really his sense of humor that made him so likable and I always remember that moment, because it was just such a classic Andy situation.”

The scholarship was created to be a “living legacy” to Keithley and it strives to honor those in our community who make it count in all aspects of life.

“He made his life count. Not a day goes by that he is not thought of or talked about,” Beth Palmer, Keithley’s aunt, said. “We miss him every day and look forward to awarding this scholarship to a deserving student at Lafayette High School.”