The Dr. Kristian "KP" Philpotts Scholarship

My name is Marla Rice, and my son is named Kristian Philpotts (“KP”). I am organizing this fundraiser so that we can set up a scholarship fund in "KP"'s memory. "KP" was a happy, intelligent, and loving person. His big dream was to attend veterinary school and become a caretaker for animals. From a very young age, he just loved animals. He had such an outgoing personality and loved to mentor the younger people that came into college under him. He organized annual toy drives for the children in "The Kids for Science" program. He would also rent animals from pet stores to throw unforgettable parties for the kids at the university that he attended. "KP" was a solo pledge for the Fraternity "Iota Phi Theta Inc." in 2013 and would have celebrated his 9th anniversary on May 2nd of this year. In January, my son, Kristian Philpotts (“KP”), was killed by three passengers he was driving while working for Lyft.

 

"KP" would have turned 30 years old this year, and he was the hardest worker; throughout college, he held down multiple jobs and still maintained good grades. He saved up and worked for Lyft while attending school to get into veterinary school. Kristian earned his Bachelor's degree in pre-veterinary medicine from Illinois State University (ISU) in 2016 and his Master's degree in pre-veterinary medicine from Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in 2019.  He was on his way to medical school with less than two years to finish and become a Veterinarian. My family and my life have been changed forever. He picked up three teenagers on January 12, 2022, in what probably started like every other ride he’d done over the years. There was a robbery attempt, and then they shot him in the back, and he died shortly afterward.

The last three months have been the most painful of my life. I’m now finally able to reflect on how our family can remember KP and write these words asking for your support today. The minimum for a named endowment is $25,000, and more can be added to this amount, which would make the annual scholarship for the student increase. An endowment is a permanent scholarship that would produce new scholarships annually for the student, and it will never go away or run out of funds. We want to create a scholarship in "KP"s name to help someone else get into veterinary school. "KP" was the most profoundly generous person, and I know he’d be happy to see that we helped someone else live out his dream.

 

Please share this page and give what you can.

Thank you from the bottom of my family and my heart

 

Marla Rice and family