Moberly parents start memorial scholarship for Kayla Huff
MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Parents within the Moberly School District are starting a memorial scholarship for Kayla Huff, who was found dead in a wooded area after she had been missing for a week.
Moberly School Board Vice President Heather Cleavinger and parent Michelle Tindle started the scholarship fund.
"A lot of parents and kids came to me and said 'Hey, we want to do something. We feel helpless. We want to keep her memory alive,'" Cleavinger said.
The scholarship will be awarded to a student from Huff's class in 2028, Cleavinger said. While the scholarship is still in the early stages, the goal is to award at least $1,000, and as of Sunday evening, about $330 have already been collected.
Huff, 16, was a virtual student with the Moberly School District. She was in her sophomore year of school and her best friend, Kaidence Tiger, said Huff would be proud.
"She was really well known, and just the community coming together and doing this for her is just--I think she would really like it," Tiger said.
Tindle and Cleavinger said there were many ideas to remember Huff, like a bench, but the scholarship won overall.
"I just think that the best thing we can do for our kids is educate them," Tindle said. "What's more important than educating them with, you know, helping with a scholarship to get them educated? And hopefully this brings more awareness and keeps her memory alive."
Huff went missing on May 6, and her body was found a week later in the Rudolph Bennitt Conservation Area. Four adults have been charged in connection with her disappearance, including Alayna Mason and Hunter Ames, who face felony murder charges among others.
Jessie Dunwoody said she works with Huff's mom, Renee Huff, and would often see Kayla. Dunwoody said she saw Huff just days before she went missing.
"I just told her [Huff] 'See you soon, beautiful,' and, yes, it's [the scholarship] in honor of her," Dunwoody said.
The Moberly community has come together in the days of Huff's disappearance and death, with volunteers searching the conservation area; the Huff family's church holding space for grief through mental health days and a vigil; and now the scholarship.
