DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — A new scholarship at Miami University will bear the name of the student who was struck and killed by a train last spring.

CSX Corp., a rail shipping company, presented a $25,000 check to the university to create an endowment for the scholarship.

The scholarship will be available to current or future students of speech pathology and audiology, which was the major of Beth Speidel, the 19-year-old who was killed last April.

Cindy Sanborn, vice president of the northern region of CSX, offered her condolences to Beth's parents, who were in the audience, as she presented the check. She said Beth was one of 1,000 people who were killed at railroad crossings last year, and she hoped that Beth's death would increase public awareness to prevent future accidents.

Through tears, Jeff Speidel, Beth's father, thanked CSX for its donation and the university for support.

"My daughter was really excited about the speech pathology program," he said. "The fact that her death can afford somebody else the chance to pursue the same degree is good."

Karen Schilling, dean of arts and sciences, said the only thing the university could do was learn from the tragedy and a scholarship was one of the best ways a university could remember Beth. "An individual student will be reminded every year," she said.

It is Miami's policy to educate scholarship winners on the background of any scholarship, said Michael Kumler, director of development for the Division of Student Affairs. So, each winner would be told Beth's story.

The first scholarships from the fund will be for the 2008-09 school year. Kumler said the scholarships will initially be in the $1,200 range, but will grow with time.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2190 or jrinaldi@coxohio.com.