MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A group of fall 2024 graduates from Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education were given nearly two dozen books for their first classrooms to honor the memory of a late alumna.
Cassidy Cares: Bookmarked from Heaven is a family project started four years ago in memory of Cassidy Adair Ganey, who died three weeks after graduating summa cum laude from the program in May 2018. The 25-year-old had secured a position as a kindergarten teacher and her 5-year-old daughter, Piper Ganey, would be joining her in the fall.
“In the midst of their grief, Cassidy’s family, particularly her mother Shirley Vaughn and daughter Piper, sought a meaningful way to honor her memory,” said Shannon Harmon, associate professor in the Department of Elementary and Special Education who works within the K-5 Elementary Education Residency 1 Program.
Harmon said she and Vaughn discussed the best way to create something that would not only memorialize Ganey, but also actively support and inspire other educators as well as be tangible to Piper in a way that she could participate…