Thousands of students walk across the graduation stage each year to receive their degrees from Lone Star College System. But not all are lucky enough to see that dream come to fruition.

Paula Whitaker unexpectedly lost her son Ryan in 2007 when he was just 25 years old. He attended Gadsden State Community College in Alabama after high school but had moved back to Texas with a new plan.

“Two weeks before he died, he told me he wanted to attend Lone Star College-Tomball to become a nurse so he could help people,” Whitaker said. “That gave me a vision and something that I could hold onto after he was gone. He wanted to help people wherever he went.”

Whitaker transformed this tragedy into an opportunity to help other aspiring nurses achieve their dreams. By the time Ryan’s funeral took place, she had established the Ryan Paul Whitaker Nursing Scholarship Endowment through Lone Star College Foundation, ensuring his legacy would live on for years to come.

“Lone Star College Foundation is honored that Paula Whitaker chose to honor Ryan in this way,” said Nicole Robinson Gauthier, CFRE, LSCS associate vice chancellor, Foundation Advancement & Donor Engagement. “Through this endowment, we are making dreams a reality for so many aspiring nurses.”

Since 2007, the Ryan Paul Whitaker Nursing Scholarship Endowment has supported 60 students. Whitaker now enjoys meeting scholarship recipients and telling them about her son.

“The team does a fabulous job picking students whose mission in life is helping people,” she said. “That’s important to me because they are selecting students who have the same vision that my son had. Education changes everything: the person, their family, their community. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

In 2009, LSCS leaders named the nursing laboratories in the LSC-Tomball Health Science Building in Ryan’s memory. Whitaker said she knows his legacy is being lived out in those labs, and seeing students train to become nurses brings her comfort.

Whitaker’s own passion for education led her to teach in public schools for 23 years and to open two private Christian schools. She now owns Champion Christian Counseling Center in Tomball.

Whitaker is a member of the Legacy Circle. Members name LSC Foundation in their wills or estate plans, knowing their assets will benefit future generations of students.

“I am leaving a legacy of helping people and making a difference in the world,” she said. “Money is only as good as the good things it does and is a blessing from God. If we can make the world better when we leave, then why wouldn’t we do it?

Visit LoneStar.edu/Giving/Donate-PlannedGiving to see how your Planned Giving donation can support the next generation at Lone Star College System.