Each year, one nursing student at Cayuga Community College will receive a special award in the form of a scholarship. Family and friends of Katie Socci, an Auburn woman who was killed, created the scholarship in her honor. Our Iris St. Meran spoke with her alma mater as well as her friends about this addition to her legacy.

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AUBURN, N.Y. -- Katie Socci's mom, Tina, and her friends flip through old photo albums. Each picture brings back fond memories of the person they loved. To honor her memory, they went to where she studied nursing, Cayuga Community College and created the Katie M. Socci Memorial Scholarship.

"Katie loved being a nurse. She loved to help others. She could put a smile on the sickest person's face. So, to do the scholarship was a way to just keep her beautiful, caring spirit going through generations,” said friend and race co-director Erin Colaneri.

Each year, the scholarship will be awarded to one nursing student who demonstrates compassion and devotion to serving others like Socci. Sharon MacKay of Auburn is the first recipient. She will graduate in May.

Cayuga Community College Foundation Executive Director Jeffrey Hoffman said, "We were really honored, they would consider, of all the things you could use to memorialize Katie in her life that they chose the college to do that. Katie went through our nursing program, loved our nursing program and she had worked as a nurse all over the country as a traveling nurse."

So far, nearly $35,000 has been raised. The goal is $100,000 in the next three years.

One of their fundraising efforts is the Stiletto Stampede and a fashion show. These events are meant to remember but also be light-hearted.

Scholarship co-founder Karrie Glatt said, "We also know that Katie wouldn't go to a 5K run and we had to make it embody her spirit and her amazing ability to connect with people so it's more of a party to remember her than a memorial."

So they're getting their stilettos together to reflect on the fun times, while working to make sure people with the same passion as Katie Socci get the opportunity to also fulfill their dream of becoming a nurse.

If you'd like to donate, you can contact Cayuga Community College directly. Or you can do so by participating in the Socci Stiletto Stampede which takes place May 11th.

Visit www.soccistilettostampede.com for more information.