Samuel Boyd is remembered for his love of music, hosting cookouts and his fraternity—Delta Kappa Epsilon—and his desire to help others. In his memory, parents Morgan and Ginger Boyd have established the Samuel A. “Sam” Boyd Endowed Scholarship for Delta Kappa Epsilon at Troy University. 

Sam graduated from Enterprise High School with honors in 2014 before making his way to TROY where he became an active member and Chapter Advisor of DKE Fraternity. He graduated from TROY in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation, and was then accepted to the prestigious Orientation and Mobility Master’s Program at Salus University in Pennsylvania.

Sam passed away in the spring of 2021 from complications with epilepsy. He loved his pets, a dog and two cats, his little sister, Anna, his fraternity brothers and sending his mom jokes and had dreams of helping blind and visually impaired children. 

“His service was standing room only, so that really showed the impact he had on everyone he met,” Ginger, his mom, said. “They all said that he just accepted everybody, no matter who they were. He was very kind-hearted. He was very patient.”

The Boyds are a TROY family—Ginger has both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from TROY, and her husband, Morgan, has his bachelor’s and two masters’ degrees from the University. To Ginger and Morgan, TROY was the clear choice for Sam to make his home-away-from-home. But it took Sam a little while longer to warm up to the idea.

“Sometime during his freshman year he started telling me, ‘I know now why you wanted me to go to TROY.’ He realized this is where he could fit in with the people,” she said. “This is where he belonged and he just had to get here to see it and find his people. I think that’s the purpose of joining in with a fraternity or sorority; you hear a lot of people say you’re buying friends, but that’s not what you’re doing. You’re meeting people that are like you.”

Sam found a home at DKE and developed strong bonds with his fraternity brothers, often playing and recording music together. After his passing, DKE made the Epilepsy Foundation of Alabama their yearly philanthropy project and named their chapter room after him. They also placed his portrait on the DKE letters along with facts about epilepsy.

One of Sam’s close friends and fraternity brother, Evan, even reached out to the Epilepsy Foundation for medical training and trained the other members of DKE. 

“We felt like they really kept Sam’s name out there,” Ginger said. “He loved TROY and he loved his fraternity and we don’t want him to be forgotten. That’s why it was meaningful for us to make sure that the scholarship went to a DKE member… because they have continued to honor our son’s memory and do it with such grace and dignity.”

To be eligible for the scholarship, a student must be a member of DKE, be a junior or senior and have and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0. First preference will also be awarded to students who have shown academic improvement since their freshman year, like Sam.

“When he graduated high school he was at a 4.0 and got to TROY, and, like everyone else, including me when I came here, had a good time,” his father Morgan said with a laugh. “After the first year he lost his scholarship, but then he got it back. They gave him that one chance to earn it again, and that’s why we thought about the juniors and seniors. Hopefully the money can help them to go ahead and give them that nudge and graduate.”

For the first home game of the football season, Ginger and Morgan made the trip from Enterprise to Troy to see the game and the fraternity house their son called home. It was the beginning of philanthropy week, and DKE members who never met Sam, affectionately nicknamed “Bubbles,” were raising funds for epilepsy advocacy. 

“At his service we had their motto, ‘The gentleman, the scholar, and the jolly good fellow’ on our son’s memorial cards because that was him to a T,” Ginger said. “After getting to know some of his frat brothers, I understand why that is their motto. It is definitely fitting.”

To apply for the Samuel A. “Sam” Boyd Endowed Scholarship for Delta Kappa Epsilon at Troy University, click here. 

For more information on establishing a scholarship at Troy University, please contact the Office of Development at (334) 670-3297.