Scholarship a touching way to remember Kaden Robert

On a Friday evening in August, the Kelly High School Hawks took to the field for their first home game ever.

Only two months had passed since the accidental shooting death of their friend and teammate, Kaden Robert, who, by all accounts, was an avid athlete and all-around good young man. Robert was killed in June when a handgun accidentally discharged in the high school parking lot after a pickup basketball game with friends.

The atmosphere the night of the home game was thick with reminders of Robert, from a giant 14 painted on the field to a slogan on the gridiron roster proclaiming, "Once a Hawk ... Always a Hawk."

That night, it was clear the 15-year-old honor student and member of the Pep Club would not be forgotten anytime soon. And now, Robert's legacy lives on in another way -- a way we are certain he would have approved.

A scholarship in Robert's name has been established through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation. It is part of the foundation's Honoring Tradition -- Inspiring Success comprehensive campaign and is to be awarded to a Southeast freshman who is a Kelly graduate and who participated in high school sports.

Robert's parents, Aaron and Rhonda, are part of the committee tasked with choosing scholarship recipients.

So although the Roberts lost their son, and a community that loved him continues to mourn, they have been able to parlay his tragic passing into an opportunity for other good young people who deserve a chance to realize their dreams.

Somewhere, we are certain, No. 14 is smiling, as he so often did in life.