A Scholarship for Sydney: Local Nurses Turn Tragedy to Triumph

April 20, 2017

“Her smile could brighten a room,” reminisced Ashley Knotts, a Nurse Tech in the BSA Emergency Department. It was a fond memory many at BSA have about their friend and co-worker, Sydney Wallace.

March 6 is a day many who work in the BSA Emergency Department won’t soon forget. On that particular day, 23-year-old Registered Nurse Sydney Wallace and her boyfriend, Cody Crockett tragically lost their lives trying to save cattle from a wildfire that swept through the Franklin Ranch, north of McLean.

Sydney began working as a Nurse Tech at BSA in 2015. She worked at BSA as she went to nursing school at WTAMU. Upon graduation in 2016, Sydney moved to an RN position in the BSA Emergency Department.

“Many of us here at BSA got to see Sydney evolve from a Nurse Tech into an RN,” Knotts explained. “She was a friendly person who cared deeply about everyone who was in her life.”

That compassion is what inspired the BSA Emergency Department to find a way to give back to Sydney, her family and the community.

On March 14, the BSA Emergency Department held a fundraiser at 7 Bar and Grill that raised more than $5,000. A week later, another fundraiser was held at the local Chick-fil-a stores where $2,000 was raised. Staff decided to split the money evenly between the four families who lost loved ones in the wildfires.

With the help of the community and the BSA Emergency Department, Sydney’s family received $2,000 in donations. In Sydney’s memory, it was decided that the money would go toward a scholarship fund for future nursing students at West Texas A&M University.

“Sydney meant a lot to people in her community. She was such a bright young woman who followed her faith very closely,” Knotts recalled.

Along with the restaurant donations, custom shirts with Sydney’s name on them were sold to help build the scholarship fund. Many of the BSA staff don them proudly.

“She will always be remembered with a smile,” Knotts said.

Sydney may be gone, but her spirit is alive within the BSA Emergency Department.

If you would like to donate to the Sydney Wallace WTAMU Scholarship Fund, please click here.

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