Kyle O'Connell Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Kyle O'Connell memorial scholarship was created in honor of Kyle O'Connell, the son of Michael '87 and Julie '88 (Belfiore) O'Connell. On February 6, 2005, Kyle passed away just shy of his 10th birthday. Kyle's brave fight against brain cancer inspired a group of USD alumni to create this scholarship. The purpose of this scholarship is to inspire students through Kyle's story of courage, determination and spirit to find a cure for cancer, to provide comfort and hope for patients and their families who are struggling with terminal illness and to become advocates motivating others to become active in the fight against this deadly disease. It will benefit graduate and/or undergraduate junior or senior student enrolled in the study of healing arts including nursing, marriage and family therapy and the sciences.
To give to the Kyle O'Connell Memorial Scholarship, please click here.
Special Update:
Alumnus, Dan McNamee '89, '94 (JD), took a run at cancer. Dan ran the America's Finest City half marathon and raised over $20,000 for Kyle's scholarship. Click here to read about Dan's story and to learn more about his efforts to raise funds for this scholarship.
Thank you messages from scholarship recipient:
“I wanted to thank you for choosing me as this year’s recipient of the Kyle O’Connell scholarship.
After suffering from a terminal illness for my entire life and receiving a bone marrow transplant, I know
firsthand the hardships that Kyle and his family experienced. The medical bills that accompany such an
illness are quite overwhelming and I cannot thank the donors and supporters of this award enough for
assisting my family in the additional financial burden of a college education.”
~Stefanie ’10