The Barbara L. Kennedy Memorial Scholarship was established to remember and honor one of our own. Barbara Lynn Kennedy joined the WINGS Chapter in 1996. She was very involved in many aspects of the chapter. She served as Chapter Secretary during the 1997 - 1998 and 1998 - 1999 chapter years. In addition, Barbara was a member of the Fundraising, Newsletter, Scholarship, Program, and Special Events committees during her time with the WINGS Chapter. She was a staunch advocate of education.

Barbara's career was in the health care industry. Her degree was in Medical Technology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She worked at Brigham Women's Hospital in Boston for four years after college, then relocated to Houston. In the last eight years of her life she worked for the Laboratory Medicine Department of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, part of the University of Texas system. There she performed technician bench work in the Molecular Lab, was the educator for the lab and an instructor in the Med Tech program, and assisted in the setup of new tests and procedures. In 1998 and 1999 she worked in the Laboratory Medicine Information Services department, where she was responsible for the department's effort to upgrade the laboratory software for Y2K. Barb had a continuing interest in medical ethics she attended numerous lectures and read many articles on the topic. This interest, combined with her med tech experience, led her to recognize the impact genetics is having in health care. She investigated and applied to the Genetics Counseling program at UT's Health Science Center. Lacking a few pre-requisites, she intended to complete them and re-apply for admission to the program prior to the untimely accident that took her from us much too soon.

Barbara found great pleasure in reading and as learning new things. She strongly believe in working on personal growth. She stayed current on local and national news. She had a wickedly sharp sense of humor. She loved football (Go Bills!) and followed baseball and basketball as well. She did beautiful cross-stitching. She loved candles, quilts, angels, and offbeat music. She was a charter member of an Investment Club. She was incredibly supportive of others and assisted in anyway for you to fulfill your goals. Barbara had some physical limitations (she detested being considered handicapped!) that presented daily challenges to her energy and drive, but she was fiercely independent and noone ever exhausted her enthusiasm. Barbara was a friend and provided inspiration to many who knew her.

Qualifications for Scholarships

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The Barbara L. Kennedy Scholarship

1. The Candidates for the Barbara Kennedy Memorial Scholarship will be selected by the University of Texas Health Sciences School, Genetic Engineering Department.
2. The candidates will be female students enrolled in the college of Genetic Engineering.
3. The Education Team Leader and (2 - 4) additional chapter members in conjunction with a member of Barbara Kennedy's family will comprise the committee to review the applications and select the recipient of the scholarship.
4. The application deadline will be September 1st of each year. The committee will make the selection by the October chapter meeting.
5. The recipient will be informed and officially presented a certificate of the scholarship no later than the November chapter meeting.
6. The funds awarded to the recipient will be transferred from the Barbara Kennedy Memorial Scholarship Foundation and applied to the student's tuition for the spring semester.