By Katie Sanchez, Outgoing Editor-in-Chief

Dashes of kelly green dotted Cintas Center’s Schiff Conference Center last Thursday as dozens gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of Xavier alumna Brigid Kelly.

Kelly, who graduated from Xavier in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in business and entrepreneurship, passed away last March at age 40 after nearly two decades of public service dedicated to improving the lives of those in Cincinnati and beyond. Born and raised in Norwood, Kelly served as an elected official on Norwood City Council, in the Ohio House of Representatives and as Hamilton County Auditor.

Last week’s inaugural Brigid Kelly Scholarship Breakfast was created as a way to memorialize Kelly’s life of public service through the distribution of two annual awards: the Brigid Kelly Public Service Scholarship, which supports Xavier students pursuing opportunities in local public service, and the Brigid Kelly Public Service Award, which recognizes a local leader who embodies Kelly’s values of service and leadership.

The idea for the awards and event was brought forward by Hamilton County Clerk of Courts and Kelly’s fellow Xavier alumnus, Pavan Parikh. Parikh and Kelly were close friends and ran Xavier’s chapter of College Democrats together.

Parikh collaborated with Xavier’s Office of Government Relations, as well as the Philosophy, Politics and the Public (PPP) and political science programs and Xavier’s development office to establish a scholarship in Kelly’s name at her alma mater. Political science professor Dr. Mack Mariani then brought this idea to Xavier’s Women in Politics club to involve them in the planning process. Kelly was known as an advocate for women’s issues, including women’s participation in public service.

“Pavan (Parikh) thought that this would be something that she would be really passionate about and combines her spirit of public service, her educational background – the things that she worked for and valued,” president of Women in Politics and a senior PPP and history double major, Alyssa Blandford said. “Pavan and Xavier’s teams thought that this would be a good way to power women and other students to pursue the types of work that Brigid did because it is often work that’s unpaid or underpaid.”

Over 70 friends, former coworkers, local leaders, students and family members filled the room at the first presentation of these awards, memorializing Kelly by telling stories about her life and wearing her signature green.

Xavier government relations director Sean Rhiney spoke about Kelly and her enduring legacy at Xavier, the surrounding community and beyond. Parikh spoke emotionally about his memories of Kelly and the ways he hopes these awards will further her impact on the community even after her passing.

Before the event, the scholarship fund had raised $37,350 from 141 individual donors. $9,375 of that money was raised by Women in Politics, which used their March Gladness campaign to raise funds for the scholarship.

Mariani presented the inaugural Brigid Kelly Public Service Scholarship to sophomore PPP and accounting double major Carolyn Isaly. Isaly, who is the current Women in Politics treasurer and incoming vice president, was shocked to hear her name called as the award winner.

“I honestly wasn’t going to apply because I know so many other students who I thought fit the description of public servant better than me,” Isaly said. “I ended up applying because I was recently told that women typically apply to less things than men because they have the mindset that I had. I didn’t want to be one of the people who didn’t try because I assumed there were other, better candidates.”

While Isaly never met Kelly, she said that Kelly’s life was inspiring to her and that she hopes to emulate her in her future work. 

“The most meaningful part of the event for me was when Brigid’s family came up to talk to me after I was announced as the recipient,” Isaly said. “We hugged, and honestly it was hard not to cry. I hope to make them proud, and I’m really glad I had the chance to meet them.”

Blandford presented the first Brigid Kelly Public Service Award posthumously to Kelly herself. In future years, Women in Politics will solicit nominations from community members for award winners.

“I was really proud of the work that the whole group did,” Blandford said of the event. “I think it was really moving to see the room packed with people excited to support leaders and remember Brigid in this way.”