CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The price her father paid on the job is helping Emma Hyson pay for college.

Hyson, a freshman at the University of Charleston, is a pre-pharmacy major. She is a beneficiary of Kids’ Chance, which provides scholarships to West Virginia students who have a parent who was seriously, catastrophically or fatally injured in a work-related accident.

Hyson was honored, along with the program, at the state Capitol on Monday. Her father, who lost the lower parts of both legs in a workplace accident before she was born, was there and proud.

“I didn’t know about it until about this time last year when I was applying for scholarships and came across the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation and found out I qualified because of my dad,” said Hyson, a Parkersburg South High School graduate.

Her appearance at the Capitol came as Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin recognized Kids’ Chance Awareness Week in West Virginia. The program was established in this state in 1998 under then-Gov. Cecil Underwood. Since its inception, the organization has provided more than $150,000 in scholarships to West Virginia students.

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