Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

On Thursday afternoon a group of about 90 students, members of the LMU administration and the university’s Carter and Moyers School of Education gathered to honor the memory of Eliza Dakota Jane Leight. They all wore pink or purple in honor of Dakota.

Andrea Shipley with the President’s Office and Dr. Chessica Cave, Associate Professor of Education & Director of Undergraduate Education, led a brief ceremony and moment of silence before the group surrounded the LMU letters in front of the president’s house. Dakota’s mother Pamela Louthan attended the ceremony and after it was over she was greeted by a long line of people offering hugs and words of support.

Dakota, 20, died on Feb. 21 in a car accident on U.S. 25E in Harrogate. She was an education major at LMU and a graduate of Cumberland Gap High School.

“Dakota had a rare gift—the ability to make others feel seen, valued, and understood. She was the kind of person who listened with intent, learned with curiosity, and led with kindness. Her unwavering dedication to education wasn’t just about mastering content; it was about making a difference in the lives of those around her. She dreamed of shaping young minds, igniting a love of learning in her future students, and leaving the world better than she found it. Though her time with us was far too short, the impact she made will never fade,” the university shared on a public Facebook post.

Funeral services for Eliza Dakota Jane Leight were held last Friday evening at Pump Springs Baptist Church in Harrogate with a graveside service on Saturday at Freedom Cemetery in New Tazewell.

Lincoln Memorial University has established a Dakota Leight memorial fund. Donations to help the family can be made at: www.givecampus.com/campaigns/28518/donations/new?designation=dakotaleightmemorialfund&fbclid=IwY2xjawIxmlJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfUtlawUMMFDSOVLGm1yHuK4SGwKDrkt6BCYv7TA8IO19Pvk889eMSXQzQ_aem_-BtFE_xWTq8mh6FjmHq5rg