The loss of a child is something most parents pray they will never have to endure, but last August Robin and Calvin O'Neil had to deal with the loss of their only son Kevin Eugene O'Neil.Kevin, then 25, had a scooter accident and died from head injuries in a West Palm Beach, Florida hospital three weeks after his birthday.Mrs O'Neil, who has been working with Bermudian students through the charity Passports to College of Bermuda, since 2010, has found some solace in setting up the KEO Memorial Scholarship in his honour so other young men can attend university.Mrs O'Neil's first thoughts on hearing that Kevin had been in an accident were that he would still be alive when she arrived at the hospital.“I lost my mom suddenly and knew what a sudden death felt like; so my first thoughts when I received the call that Kevin had been in an accident was to ask the Lord, to let me see him,” she said.“I prayed just let me see his face with the blood running warm through his veins. The Lord granted my prayer and wish and he lived five days allowing us to say goodbye.“My first thought after his death was how could I live without my only son; and I thought of Christ giving His only son and just prayed ‘help me Lord'. “He has done that to this day and daily I'm given angels to help me on this journey.”The couple who moved to Bermuda from Maryland, in the US, in 2007 said that it wasn't long after he passed that they honoured his memory with a request to donate a scholarship in his name. The KEO Memorial Scholarship helps young Bermudian males and those in Maryland, US, to achieve their goals of attending university.Passports to College hopes to help students by preparing them with life skills that will help them with the rigours of applying for college and hopefully being accepted into the school of their dreams or going on to become successful in the workplace.“I immediately decided to honour Kevin, as he was my number one cheerleader for the Passports to College. In lieu of flowers at his service we asked for donations to the charity.“When I began Passports to College in Maryland he started carrying my business cards and was telling students to call his mom if they wished to go off to college!”Asked whether starting the scholarship has given her a semblance of peace, her response was: “Absolutely, I have a sense of peace knowing that I can be a blessing to someone else and honour my son who was an athlete and scholar at the same time.”She described Kevin as “a very precocious as a child who went on to be a gregarious selfless individual. He was kind and gentle and a ‘groupie' he loved to have people around him, and was the life of the party”.“God created a masterpiece. Despite being born eight weeks early, he was perfect in every way. Kevin's grandfather gave him the nickname ‘Mr K'.”Kevin always had a thirst for knowledge and loved learning. He was part of the Talented and Gifted programme at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School; he attended the Eugene Burroughs Middle School and played the clarinet.This all culminated in not only being awarded Atlanta's Morehouse College Presidential Scholarship in 2003, but receiving offers from several other prominent institutions.“He was thrilled to receive this award, because he dreamed of attending Morehouse from fifth grade,” his mother told The Royal Gazette.“In addition, to Morehouse he was awarded a Presidential award at Hampton University and Florida A&M. Three other universities [also] offered him partial scholarships and they all totalled $560,000.“I was thrilled for him and told him it's nice to have choices, as we lived by the mantra choices are long lasting and life changing.”At Morehouse he studied computer engineering for one year and took a break from his studies after feeling saturated. “When he decided upon re-entry into college was to teach mathematics. My Mother's Day gift last year was a phone call from him to say he was going back to school.”All applicants for the KEO Memorial Scholarship had to write an essay on Proverbs 22:6: Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. When asked why she chose the particular proverb, she said: “I love the book of Proverbs and Kevin had to read a chapter daily all through high school.“It was so easy because there are 31 chapters so we would have him (Kevin) check the calendar and read that Proverb for the day.“There is no blueprint to parenting, so it can be difficult especially through the teenage years, and the book of Proverbs helped reinforce family values.“Kevin's choice to leave college was not popular with me, but like Proverbs 4:1-4 states one has to gain understanding. I never gave up on my son and it was music to my ears when he said he would go back to school.“I chose Proverbs 22:6 [for the essay], because I have lived the passage. Our young men will sometimes get off track, but if they are trained well; they do come back to us.“It's important for me to share and listen to the lessons young men have learned from their parental guidance.”The KEO Memorial Scholarship Bermuda winner was announced at the Mother-Son Brunch at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on July 17.The winner was Nathan George.This is the award-winng essay ‘Advancing through Time' by Nathan George:The verse in Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” relates to all parents. In my case I strongly believe that my mother has made life-altering choices that have made my life the best that it could be. My mother has guided me in my faith, my education and my relationships. She has helped me develop a foundation for my future goals, dreams and aspirations. To my mother much is owed and much may never be able to be repaid!Through my mother's guidance and care I have internalised her norms and values to the extent that they are now mine. As a child I questioned her wisdom and advice, now I cherish and value it. What I did not understand as a child was that my mother had not only the right, but the responsibility to teach me the right things. My father who was absent in my life from my second year always spoke to all who would listen about his rights, but failed to mention his responsibilities. My mother on the other hand embraced them both and even though it was tough she did a great job of raising me.My mother has always been a single-parent, she has been both mother and father to me, teaching me right from wrong, instilling deep Christian values in my life and supporting me emotionally, physically and financially. One of the biggest decisions that my mom has made for me was when we moved from London to Bermuda. My mom left behind her own home, friends, family and memories to offer me a better chance at life. Her decision to move to Bermuda and start from scratch has not only shaped my physical aspect of life but also has put me in the mental mind frame that anything is possible. The world is mine. Life is what I make it out to be and this has become the driving force to my success.My mother has always been “hands on”. She took me to school every day until I was old enough to get there on my own. She attended every school play, award ceremony, sporting event, science fair, PTA and received every “Parent Appreciation” offered by my schools. Every teacher and almost every student knew who “Nathan's Mama” was. And guess what I liked that! She taught me that parental involvement meant “total immersion” in your child's life.One other major life changing decision my mother made for me was pulling me out of public school after M3. My mom knew I was an “A” student and refused to let that potential go to waste by me getting Cs in M3. She sent me to Mount Saint Agnes Academy in 2007 whilst all my friends since P1 went to the public senior schools. It was a financial hardship for her but it turned out to be the best investment she ever made!My grades soared from then on. My attitude, confidence and determination started to stand out in a positive way. I graduated from Mount Saint Agnes Academy with Honours. I even received numerous awards including an internship from HSBC and The Reverend Deacon Edward Outerbridge Shield for outstanding witness to Christian Values. I am now preparing to go off to Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Canada to complete a Bachelors of Commerce degree followed by the Post Graduate Diploma in Law and the Common Practice Exam in England. My mom's decisions have taught me that one day I will have to make tough decisions for my children and they will learn to thank me later.In conclusion, I believe my mother has adhered to Proverbs 22:6. She has taught me that hard work, sacrifice and determination will help you succeed in the end. I can now say that her decisions have had an astounding affect on my future. Finally my future goals of becoming a lawyer in Bermuda are starting to become a reality and I owe it all to my mother. One day I hope that I can follow my mother's lead and love, cherish and raise a child of my own just as she has done for me.For more information visit www.passportstocollege.bm or e-mail info[AT]passportstocollege.bm