Two scholarship funds have been created in memory of AU Class of 2013 alumnus Kevin Sutherland, just weeks after police say he was stabbed to death on a metro train on July 4.
Sutherland’s family and friends have established the Kevin Sutherland Memorial Fund, which will give scholarships to AU students, according to the AU Alumni Association webpage.
Sutherland’s colleagues at the political strategy firm New Blue Interactive, his employer at the time of his death, set up the Kevin Sutherland Internship Fund to support students who take unpaid internships on Capitol Hill, according to the same webpage.
Monica Patel, an intern at New Blue Interactive and a junior in the School of Public Affairs, said the company wanted to honor Sutherland’s legacy and raise money to tackle an issue that he was passionate about.
“Kevin thought that [unpaid internships] were unfair and hindered hardworking students from being able to hold internships due to financial factors,” Patel said in an email.
New Blue Interactive is working with the AU Alumni Association to raise money and has already collected $6,000 for the fund, according to Patel. The company hasn’t decided the number of students who will be awarded the scholarship or the amount of each award, according to Patel.
“The big picture is that these funds will go towards helping students taking unpaid internships offset the costs of things like transportation and other expenses that come with an unpaid internship,” Patel said.
New Blue Interactive hopes to honor Sutherland by funding students who share his knowledge and enthusiasm for politics, according to Patel.
“I hope that this fund can help the next brilliant, passionate AU student, like Kevin Sutherland, find their calling,” she said.
Members of the AU community can donate to both of the scholarship funds on the AU Alumni Association webpage.
