Kaylan Harrington, RN, Spearfish Hospital, recently became the first—and, so far, only—person from South Dakota to be named a Tillman Scholar by the Pat Tillman Foundation.
Tillman was a safety for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. He famously walked away from his promising and lucrative professional football career to join the United States Army after the 9/11 attacks. He was killed in action in 2004 while serving in Afghanistan. The foundation in his name was started by his family and friends to honor his legacy and principles as an athlete, scholar, soldier and leader.
“I actually grew up down the street from Pat Tillman in California. My mom was his high school teacher, and we went to rival high schools,” says Kaylan. “He was a little bit older, but I also joined the military right after 9/11. When he was killed, it was a really big deal back in our hometown. He became a personal hero of mine for the last 20 or so years in the military. I really idolize his values and his leadership attributes and how humble he was.”
In addition to being a nurse, Kaylan serves in the South Dakota Army National Guard as a Chief Warrant Officer Four in the Training Unit at the base in Sturgis. The financial award will cover her final year of a Master’s in Nursing Education at South Dakota State University. She intends to use her degree to become a nursing instructor upon graduation next spring.
In July, Kaylan was flown to Chicago for the Pat Tillman Leadership Conference. “We got to meet his widow, and all these amazing individuals that are former Tillman Scholars, including Jonny Kim, an astronaut who Skyped in from space to talk to us. It was very inspiring.”
From pattillmanfoundation.org:
“The Pat Tillman Foundation identifies remarkable military service members, veterans and spouses, empowering them with academic scholarships, lifelong leadership development opportunities and a diverse, global community of high-performing mentors and peers. Our scholars are making an impact as they lead through action in the fields of healthcare, business, public service, STEM, education and the humanities.”
The scholarship is highly competitive; a mere 42 out of 1,700 applicants were chosen this year. Though the application process may be intense, Kaylan encourages other veteran and active duty or military spouse Caregiver-scholars to apply.
“I encourage everybody to go check it out and see if this is something that could help them in their path to furthering their education or that of their spouse or their children that might be serving,” she says. “Or, just go read Pat’s story and remember ‘the why’ behind the things we do.”
Story by Kory Lanphear
Photo submitted