Scholarship Fund Created In Honor Of Nashville Nurse Killed On I-440

A scholarship fund has been created in honor of Catilyn Kaufman, an ICU nurse in Nashville who was shot and killed on Interstate 440 earlier this month.

On December 3, Kaufman was on her way to work at St. Thomas West Hospital when someone fired multiple shots into her SUV. The 26-year-old nurse was fatally shot in the shoulder and within 15 seconds, according to a medical examiner. After a lengthy search for a suspect, and multiple anonymous donors put out rewards for their capture, 21-year-old Devaunte L. Hill was arrested and charged with criminal homicide.

Kaufman's mother, Diane, said her daughter was living her dream working as an Intensive Care Unit nurse in Nashville. To honor her memory and love of service, Kaufman's family contacted her alma mater, Butler County Community College in Pennsylvania, about creating an endowed scholarship fund.

"Nursing was Caitlyn's passion," Steve Onufrak, Kaufman's uncle, told the Butler Eagle. "She was a stellar student. She would want to help other students reach their dream in nursing."

So far, the Caitlyn Kaufman '18 Legacy Nursing Scholarship fund has raised $10,000, but another $5,000 is needed to ensure a nursing student can receive the scholarship every year. The first scholarship, of at least $500, will be awarded to a student in fall 2021.

To learn more about donating to the fund, visit the college's website here.

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