Mother begins healing by founding award for fallen son

Sunlight shone through the window of the office as Jo Burgess took a deep breath, folded her hands and began to talk about the person who changed her life – her son, Sam.\nSmiling, the IU Wylie House Museum Director told of the impact Sam had on others; laughing, she remembered stories from his childhood; crying, she talked about how much he will be missed.\nSam Burgess was just 26 years old when he was killed in a car accident last May in Louisiana, where he was working in a shipyard after his career in the US Navy. \nCommitted to making sure her son is not forgotten, Burgess decided to fund a scholarship in his memory. 2007 will mark the first year of the Sam Burgess Undergraduate Research Award.\n“I wanted him to be remembered somehow,” she said. “He had aspired to attend college but his life didn’t go in that direction, but he continued to read – to learn and teach himself.” \nA Bloomington High School South graduate, Burgess described her son as always active and seeking a challenge in life. And, aside from a love for the written word that he shared with his mother, a former librarian, Sam was passionate about his work and passionate about people – two qualities Burgess hopes to see in the recipient of the award. \n“Sam knew the meaning of work,” she said about the boy who grew up waiting tables and working a paper route. “But he knew how to make life fun, even though it was a lot of hard work.” \n“I suppose that’s what I would like to see in the winner, somebody who is dedicated like Sam. Someone who’s got dreams and who aren’t just here attending school because they think that’s what they’re supposed to be doing.”\nThe type of person “who always has a direction.”\nIn September 2005 Sam headed in the direction of Hurricane Katrina, in a tow boat off the coast of Louisiana. Dedication led him to take on the task of nailing tarps to roofs of houses damaged by the storm. \n“I never heard him complain about it once,” Burgess said. “And I know it was hot down there. He just loved helping others.”\nLike the time he saved two children from drowning in the ocean while on vacation in Mexico. Like the time he jumped from one ship to another to help avoid a collision. Just like all the times he lit up his mother’s life.\n“Sam made me stronger. I was strong anyway, but because he was so strong-willed and stubborn, he made me a stronger person too, especially at a time when I needed to feel his strength.”\n“No parent should have to lose their child, outlive their child – especially when it’s your only one.”\nThe deadline for the Sam Burgess Undergraduate Research Award is Friday. Only undergraduate students are eligible for the award and faculty nomination and letter of support is required. All nominees will be required to submit a previously completed research paper and will be reviewed by a panel of judges representing the Bloomington Faculty Council and IU libraries.\nMore information about the application is available at http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=3918. \n“Right now for me it’s almost a compulsion to see his name on things. I felt like I could trust IU and the library to maintain Sam’s award. I’m sure that it will still be there for years after I’m gone.\n“Sam wasn’t at the point in his life to leave behind a child, so this is a little bit of posterity to his name.”