The University of Oregon’s College of Education is encouraging donations to general scholarships in memory of Erick Njue, a doctoral student in the COE, who was killed in a cyclist-motorist accident on Jan. 25.

Andrea Olson, director of stewardship and donor relations for the college, worked closely with Njue, who served as a COE Scholarship Ambassador, and said scholarship donations are the best way to remember him.

“Erick was unique and memorable as a scholarship recipient in our program,” Olson said in a statement to the college after Njue’s passing.

“When he first started (in) the (Education Policy and Leadership) program, he came to my office to express his gratitude for the opportunity to receive donor support for his academic pursuits,” Olson said. “That was just the first of many visits that Erik and I had over the last (three and a half) years.”

Njue received a Master’s of Science in education policy and leadership from UO in 2023 and was pursuing a Ph.D. in Special Education.

Olson created a website giving information about how to donate in Njue’s memory, writing that gifts in his honor will “extend his legacy forward” and that donations in memory are a way to “carry forward the love he received, the gratitude he expressed and the impact he worked so intentionally to create.”

According to Olson, students who receive scholarship money donated in Njue’s memory will be made aware of him and his legacy, with the hope that they will “pursue their studies with the same sense of belonging and possibility that Erick experienced.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Andrea Olson’s name. The Emerald regrets this error.