Two members of Syracuse University’s chapter of Phi Kappa Psi were recently awarded scholarships in honor of a fraternity member who died last year.

Jack McCarthy, a junior public relations major, and Dylan Gans, a senior business major, were each awarded $5,000 from the Hunter Brooks Watson Scholarship fund earlier this month.

McCarthy and Gans were the first recipients of the scholarship, which was created to honor Hunter Watson, a member of the SU Phi Kappa Psi chapter, who died as a passenger in a car crash.

The scholarship was set up to support members of Phi Kappa Psi who display the same passions for school and life that Watson did, according a statement from the fraternity. Watson was killed in June 2016. He was a student at the time, according to the fund’s website.

McCarthy said he was humbled to receive the scholarship.

“If not for this scholarship, it would have been a more difficult choice in going abroad,” McCarthy said in an email. The award will help him study in Hong Kong, he said.

Gans said he was also honored to receive the scholarship and represent the ideals Watson embodied. The scholarship has inspired Gans to continue serving his community, he added.

Although money was not a significant factor in his decision to apply for the scholarship, Gans said the award did help him while interning in New York City this summer.

“What this scholarship kind of solidified for me was the fact that I want to keep doing these things, like Safe Driving Week, and being philanthropy chair for my chapter,” Gans said. “You receive an award like that and you want to keep going.”

After Watson’s death, Phi Kappa Psi founded Safe Driving Week to help raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. The fraternity raised more than $20,000 due to Safe Driving Week, McCarthy said.

The fraternity plans to hold a second Safe Driving Week, he added. The event is scheduled to start on Oct. 10.

Another scholarship fund created to memorialize Watson has been helping individuals across the United States.

Watson’s family created the Hunter Brooks Watson Memorial Fund, which awards grants of up to $5,000 to young adults ages 16 to 25, said Jon Lough, who is involved with the memorial fund.

Lough said he is excited to help people cultivate their interests through the memorial fund’s support.

“Our program is looking for good ideas from young people who are looking to improve the world somehow, as Hunter was,” he said.

Gans said Watson’s appreciation for life persists with all members of the SU Phi Kappa Psi chapter.

“We’re all a little bit more passionate, happy and excited, like he would have wanted,” Gans said.

Published on September 17, 2017 at 10:00 pm