By Rhiannon Burns, Staff Writer
The annual Run for Ryann takes place April 6 at 8 a.m. The 5k race honors Ryan Tewell, a 2012 Bellarmine alum who passed away after a car accident in 2014, by donating proceeds to the Ryann Tewell Memorial Scholarship.
Tewell graduated from Bellarmine with a double major in economics and business administration and also won the Faculty Merit Award in economics.
Ryann’s father, Charlie Tewell, started the scholarship as a way to give back to Bellarmine. The scholarship recipients are female students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher who are transferring to Bellarmine for their sophomore year.
Tewell said people in the Louisville area should participate in this event because it not only supports a scholarship, but it also honors Ryann Tewell and the legacy she left behind.
“This race is a spirit of community,” Tewell said. “It is supporting a cause.”
Samantha Robey, Bellarmine’s sports administrator and office of enrollment manager, was very close to Ryann.
“Ryan Tewell was a great friend to me and to many others,” Robey said. “We met at Bellarmine and traveled in the business study abroad (program) together. I miss everything about her.”
Emily Trager, the assistant director of alumni engagement, said she hopes the Bellarmine community comes to support one of the families who helps the school every year.
“I think it is really a campus wide event. Although Ryann was a Bellarmine alum, she comes from a family of alums that is really supportive of the university,” Trager said. “What’s really great about this event is anyone, regardless of their fitness level, can participate. It is an easy course to walk and you don’t have to do the full route.”
The race will be held even if weather conditions are poor. The race path starts at Knights Hall, crosses Newburg Road to Joe Creason Park and wraps around the Bellarmine campus back to Knights Hall.
Check-in for Saturday will be from 7 to 7:45 a.m. The entry fee for participants is $35, but Bellarmine students can participate for free by registering in advance and showing their ID. Students can register for the run any time before the event starts.