School of Health Professions“The best way to describe Molly is that she is an all-around beautiful person. She walks into a room, always happy, thinking, ‘How can I make everyone’s day better?’,” said Scott Bullington, a classmate.
Molly Beckman died Feb. 1, 2021. She was a second-year student in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Doctor of Audiology Program. The Molly Beckman Memorial Audiology Scholarship Endowment, established by her parents, honors her memory.
From an early age, Molly would sing “You are my Sunshine,” and she lived her life shining for others. With her big smile and even bigger heart, she decided her dream was to serve as an audiologist.
“She thought about patients constantly,” Bullington added. “You hear people talk about their majors in passing, but she didn’t think of audiology as a major, it was her life. She was genuinely interested in the topic and how she could help people, especially children with their hearing.”
Molly was never afraid to try something new. She often showed up with a new hair color or style and would even wear wigs on occasion. Bullington’s favorite memory of her involved coffee.
“Two weeks into our first semester at TTUHSC, she told me she didn’t drink coffee,” he said. “Yet, for some reason, she agreed to go to a Starbucks with me. She asked me to order for her, so I picked something basic — a caramel mocha. We became immediate friends. She was so easy to talk to.”
The Doctor of Audiology program is more like family; there are only 40 students enrolled across the four years; 10 in Molly’s cohort. The close-knit community brings everyone together, said Candace Hicks, PhD, CCC-A, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences department chair and Doctor of Audiology program director. “It’s been really hard — everyone loved her.”
Molly wanted to make the world a better place, and when she said that, she genuinely meant it.
