Henry Ford College student awarded memorial scholarship named for late HFC student

Henry Ford College student Taniya Stewart has been awarded the $1,000 Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship fund is in honor of the memory of Darrington Lovelace, who was a student at Henry Ford College until his death from colon cancer in 2015. Like Lovelace, Stewart is pursuing a career as a physical therapy assistant and will use her award to pay her tuition.

According to an article on Henry Ford College’s website, Stewart reflected on her scholarship win, saying, “Winning the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship was truly one of the biggest accomplishments in my college career. When I wrote the scholarship essay, I remember being in a place of constant struggle in my life, and putting those thoughts into words was not easy. That said, I am very thankful for this award and I am grateful to Mrs. Lovelace, who has created this amazing opportunity in honor of her son Darrington’s inspiring story.”

Darrington Lovelace’s mother Linda started Darrington’s Gift Inc with her daughters. Darrington’s Gift Inc is a nonprofit organization that hosts a fundraising event every March, which is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, that funds both the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship for Henry Ford College students and gas gift cards to give to cancer patients so they can afford transportation to their medical appointments.

Linda Lovelace explained what their fundraising event entails and how it is honoring her son’s memory. She is quoted as saying, “Every year, we’ve raised money for scholarships to benefit PTA students in their last year of the program. We serve a delicious dinner and recognize the PTA students’ accomplishments. Several previous scholarship winners have come back every year to meet the current students who won. Darrington was not able to obtain his degree and assist people requiring physical rehabilitative services. We wanted to help other students reach that same goal. This way, he is still making an impact and helping others.”

Linda went on to describe what her son’s Henry Ford College journey was like. She said that he was proud to be a Hawk. “He worked very hard and was admitted into the PTA program after being on the waiting list for a year. During his first semester of the program, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. That news was totally unexpected; it shocked our entire family. After beginning cancer treatments, Darrington’s goal of becoming a PTA would unfortunately not come to pass. He was just too sick to return to school and complete his degree before he died in 2015.”

Stewart recognizes that winning the scholarship award will help her carry on Darrington’s legacy and continue on in her journey to becoming a physical therapy assistant, a journey he was never able to complete. She said, “The Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship gives students like me an opportunity to further my education while instilling and promoting health lifestyles to help create long and fulfilling lives. This scholarship also promotes awareness of patients with colon cancer. While Darrington was not able to become a PTA, he was still able to impact so many lives, which is what physical therapy is all about.”

Stewart will be graduating from Henry Ford College in May and will be working as a physical therapy assistant before moving on to a four-year college to complete her education. The financial support from the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship will help her start off her career on the right foot.

Barongiere, one of Linda’s daughters, expressed her gratitude that she and her sister and mother are able to continue her brother’s legacy through the scholarship fund and the annual fundraising dinner. She said, “It was a pleasure to host our community while recognizing the scholarship recipient Taniya Stewart and providing a meaningful event that honored Darrington and exemplified who he was. We appreciate all of the community’s support. We’re thankful our efforts have not been in vain. His greatest wish was that he wouldn’t be forgotten. We’re making sure that doesn’t happen.”

Anyone interested in donating to the scholarship fund is welcome to do so via the HFC Foundation or by contacting the family at darringtonsgift@yahoo.com.

For more information about Henry Ford College, visit the school’s website.