VIU graduate Micah Messent will be honoured through two awards at the university after he was killed in a plane crash in March 2019. (Micah Messent Facebook)

By Alex Rawnsley

MICAH'S LEGACY

New VIU awards create lasting legacy for student killed in plane crash

Dec 10, 2019 | 7:24 AM

NANAIMO — Vancouver Island University is honouring a recent graduate killed in a horrific plane crash by presenting two annual tuition awards funded by his family and friends.

Micah Messent was one of 157 passengers and crew aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed shortly after takeoff in March, 2019. He was 23 years old.

The Micah Messent Memorial Indigenous Award will go annually to an First Nations student from his hometown of Courtenay who wishes to take Indigenous Studies at VIU.

Micah’s mother Suzanne Camp told NanaimoNewsNOW the awards are a fitting way to honour her son’s legacy.

“We just feel that’s a really important part of education, to be aware of the Indigenous story in Canada,” Camp said. “When we can get a student interested by way of this award to enroll in that course at VIU, we feel like we’re carrying on his message.”

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A second award focuses on Messent’s passion for the environment and be presented to students at VIU who show a history of community involvement and environmental advocacy.

Messent graduated from VIU with a BA in Indigenous Studies in 2018. He was travelling to Nairobi, Kenya for a United Nations environment conference when his plane crashed six minutes after take off in neighbouring Ethiopia.

Messent’s plane was the second Boeing 737 MAX 8 to crash land as a result of a faulty flight control system. The crash of flight 302, along with a similar crash in October, 2018, led to a worldwide grounding of the aircraft.

“Our family is still devastated by his loss, but the only way we can go forward to remember him and to help other people know who he was, is to support other young people,” Camp said.

Money for the awards came through fundraising efforts in the aftermath of his death, with friends, family and community members donating to a GoFundMe page.

“We had his celebration of life in May on what would have been his 24th birthday,” Camp said. “About 600 people came and so many of them came up to me and told me they were Micah’s best friend…because that’s how he made them feel. He was their best friend.”

The Indigenous studies award is funded in perpetuity, while the environment bursary is paid for three years with on-going fundraising efforts aimed at increasing its lifespan.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley