Shine for Cisco Scholarship

Cisco Knightner was a star.  He was a star in our hearts, and a star in our lives. His brightness went beyond his smile (a smile that we will always cherish in all of its luminance). Even further, Cisco's brightness was in the way that he carried himself, and the way that he always tried. Whether it was to make someone laugh or to make someone's day or to make someone proud (and sometimes even to make someone annoyed, because he always found humor in that), Cisco was always trying. Moreover, Cisco was always trying to make something of what he had, and to make the future that he and his family envisioned for himself come to life.

We will forever feel sadness in the fact that his future was cut short. Cisco passed away an innocent victim of gun violence last month. A senseless person with a gun took away a son, a brother, a nephew, a grandson, a cousin, and a friend. A senseless person with a gun took away Cisco's life just a month before his 18th birthday. Just over 3 months before what would've been his high school graduation. 

Cisco didn't get a chance at the future he deserved. At the future he went to school for and played sports for, despite those attempting to throw distractions his way. 

We want to see to it that boys like Cisco don't lose sight of their futures. That boys like Cisco, boys who try and work and struggle through the adversities of life, are able to live out their futures in the way that they deserve. That boys like Cisco don't miss out on their bright futures because of the hurdles that life throws at them. Cisco experienced a lot of those hurdles growing up, but he was on the way to overcoming them. He was on the way to shining through them.

Cisco wasn't able to continue shining, so we want to build this scholarship to help kids go to college and shine for him.