(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — To honor a former student who wanted to change lives, but whose own life was tragically cut short, UC Santa Barbara has awarded its inaugural Lucas Ransom Memorial Scholarships. Two students will each receive $4,000 in tuition assistance from a fund established by the Ransom family as a tribute to their son, who was a junior at UCSB when he was killed in a shark attack in October 2010.
 
The winners are James G. Stanfill, a chemistry major from Oxnard, and John Adlin Scott, a chemistry major from Redding. Both students are entering their senior years at UCSB, expecting to graduate in 2013. They received the awards on Friday — the day before Ransom would have graduated — in a ceremony attended by Ransom’s family and several friends.
 
“This is so meaningful and poignant, because Lucas would have been graduating, but, also, this is a celebration,” mother Candace Ransom said. “The dream that Lucas had to help others is in the hearts and minds of these students, and they will have the opportunity to continue on where Lucas didn’t get to. I feel so proud and honored to see this scholarship finally come through. I just know that each of these students has so much to offer, and they are such inspirational people. They have a lot of gifts and talents, and we hope they will go out and make a big difference in other people’s lives.”