Annie White recalls waking up on the morning of May 29, 2020 – the day of her high school graduation – to flashing blue lights outside her window. She soon learned that her father, Deputy Constable Caleb Rule, had been accidentally shot and later died after responding to a call about a suspicious person.
“It was chaos,” Annie recalled. “Once word got out, the media swarmed my graduation.”
But the ceremony also drew many who wanted to support Annie and her family. “There were hundreds of men and women in blue lining the high school track,” she said. “We were in awe of just how many people came out for us.”
An uncertain future
No demonstration of community support, however, could change the facts: Annie’s future was suddenly short-circuited.
But then Annie’s mother learned about Kids’ Chance of America – a national network of nonprofits that provides scholarships for college or trade school to the kids of workers critically or fatally injured on the job.
“My mom came across Kids’ Chance in a packet of materials related to workers’ compensation, ”Annie recalled. “She called me to tell me about Kids’ Chance scholarships. I felt it was a sign to reconsider moving forward with my educational goals.”
Annie enrolled in Texas State University’s School of Family and Consumer Sciences, graduating summa cum laude in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family sciences. Now married with an infant daughter, she has her eye on the next stage of her career plans: graduate school.
Annie also recently became a national ambassador for Kids’ Chance of America, sharing her story to raise awareness of the scholarship opportunities the organization provides to students like her who have been impacted by a work-related tragedy.
“When my father passed, my world drastically changed,” Annie said. “In one day, I went from being an honors student in the top 20 percent of my class to not wanting to attend college at all. As a KCOA ambassador, I can demonstrate that students in situations like mine can keep moving forward and achieve challenging goals.”
How you can help students like Annie
Every 96 minutes, a worker in the United States dies on the job, and thousands more suffer catastrophic injuries. Workers Memorial Day, observed each year on April28 – the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) – is a fitting time to remember these workers and the loved ones they left behind. Here’s how you can help:
Refer a kid
Kids’ Chance of America’s Planning for the Future initiative maintains a database of kids eligible for a scholarship to college or career training. To refer the child of a critically or fatally injured worker for scholarship consideration, simply complete the one-page online form at https://pff.kidschance.org.
Make a donation
Help other students like Annie achieve their dreams by making a tax-deductible donation toKids’ Chance: https://www.kidschance.org/donate/kcoa
