By Alissa Bridges
It has been more than 12 years since Charles and Terri L’Homme, of Valrico, lost their son, Ryan, as a result of injuries sustained while playing an intramural softball game while attending Florida State University.
To keep the memory of their son alive, however, the L’Homme’s started up a scholarship in their son’s name that they have awarded to members of the Delta Lambda Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha at Florida State University.
Ryan was a 1999 graduate of Bloomingdale High School, grew up in Valrico and was involved in baseball throughout his life. He played with South Brandon Little League for 10 years and while at Bloomingdale, he played catcher for four years. Ryan was also a pole vaulter on the track team. His other extracurricular activities included National Honor Society, student government, Leo club and he was a Florida Merit Scholar.
At Florida State, Ryan was an Electrical Engineering major and was appointed to the dean’s list with a 3.5 GPA during his first semester. In February of 2000 he accepted an invitation to join the Delta Lambda Colon of Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) as a founding member. Ryan was playing in an intramural softball game in March of 2000 for Pi Kappa Alpha when he was struck by a softball in the temple and never regained consciousness.
In order to keep Ryan’s memory alive, Charles and Terri founded the Ryan L’Homme Memorial Scholarship.
“It is the intention of the awards sponsors to recognize the spirit in other Florida State Pikes that Ryan brought to the Delta Lambda Colony through his association,” said Charles.
The Ryan C. L’Homme Memorial Scholarship annually recognizes members of Delta Lambda Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha who exhibited exceptional achievement in the areas of academics, leadership and extracurricular activities.
On October 13, of this year, the 9th Annual Ryan L.’Homme Memorial Scholarship was presented to Andrew Slechta, at Florida State University.
Anyone interested in contributing donations to the Ryan L’Homme Memorial Scholarship can contact Pi Kappa Alpha in Memphis at 8347 W. Range Cove, Memphis, TN 38017, C/O The Ryan L’Homme Memorial Scholarship.
