The family of Nadia Barghelame, the young Metro State aviation student and member of the tennis team who perished in a Dec. 17 plane crash near Centennial Airport, has established the Nadia Barghelame Female Aviator Endowed Scholarship Fund.

In establishing the scholarship, the Barghelame family said they would like to help female aviation students at Metro State who, like their daughter, have a passion, drive and desire to fly.

Abe and Mary Barghelame and their remaining children have donated $15,000, of which $13,000 will go toward the endowment and $2,000 for an annual award that will be disbursed beginning this fall. The scholarship will continue for up to four years if its standards are met. Funds for fees incurred for flight training are also available.

The eligibility criteria include:

• female student majoring in aviation
• full time (12 hours or more)
• 2.50 or higher GPA
• sophomore, junior, or senior status
• passion for flying
• optional essay on a career in flying

Recipient(s) will be selected by the College Scholarship Committee with additional representation from the faculty of the Department of Aviation and Aerospace Science.

Metro tennis coach honors team member in his own way
While Nadia Barghelame's family is honoring her memory through a scholarship in her name, Dave Alden, Nadia's tennis coach at Metro, has chosen a different and deeply personal way to show respect for his fallen player. Alden and his wife have named their newborn daughter Nadia.

"It was an easy decision for me and my wife to make," Alden said. "And it was the best decision for us. We did it out of respect for Nadia's family." Baby Nadia was born March 22.

Alden has known the Barghelames since he coached Nadia's brother Ali at Fort Collins' Poudre High School in 1990-91. "She was just a little girl at that point," he said.

Alden said that Nadia was a tremendous player who would have had a huge impact on Metro's team. "We'd hoped to rebuild around her for the future.

"From a coaching standpoint, you expect to lose some players through injury or transfer, but you never expect to have a player pass away. My wife and I are very glad we made this decision. Nadia's father was so happy when he heard."