The Light She Left Behind

Amy Marsh looks up and sees her daughter, posed in her old dance photo.

Stuck in a glass frame, Lauren Collins’ presence continues to shine through the space she used to call home.

Lauren went to work like any other day at Buffalo Wild Wings in the summer when she came home to Union, Kentucky, after her first year at the University of Kentucky.

On July 16, 2023, Marsh was coming home from a Cincinnati Reds game. Lauren stopped to speak to her mom before leaving again, this time with her hair done and makeup on.

“I said to her, ‘Lauren, I wish you wouldn't go,’” Marsh said. “And she just kind of turned around, did like a little leg flip, and was like, ‘I'll see you later.’”

The Ring camera showed Lauren's last goodbye as she left to go to her friend's house at midnight. Only 10 minutes later, she crashed.

At 2 a.m., a police officer knocked on Marsh’s door, letting her know that Lauren had been in a car accident. 

“I knew in my gut,” Marsh said. “I just knew.”

The next few moments became a blur for Marsh: the drive to the hospital, the waiting room, the doctor’s voice.

“I don't remember everything the doctor said, but I just remember her saying she tried everything,” Marsh said. “My brain was just trying to figure it out, and I just was screaming, nonstop screaming. I just couldn't stop.”

After the accident, Marsh received calls from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office to retrieve Lauren’s things from her car.

She met with Detective Jeff Nagy, who told her there was an eyewitness. An off-duty paramedic saw the accident, pulled over and saw a tire mark across her car window.

A truck tire came off, detached from its vehicle traveling on the other side of I-75, but instead of the driver staying to see where his tire went, he fled.

“The night before Lauren's funeral, I got a call,” Marsh said. “Someone came to the Independence Police Department and said that they had lost a tire, but that they didn't believe that it had hit anybody, and they didn't believe it was him that they were looking for.”

After months, the police department realized the person who came to the police was the driver, and soon Marsh would attend court and see him. In front of her eyes, he pled guilty, leading to his sentence of seven years in prison.

Family and friends filled the room that day with support. 

“They (Boone County Court) said they've never received more victim impact statements for any other case ever,” Marsh said.

Marsh said she couldn’t stay stuck in grief because her daughter wouldn’t have wanted that.

“I can’t live in anger,” Marsh said. “I can’t let that be the thing that defines this.”

After the funeral, Lauren’s Kappa Delta sisters put together a memorial dedicated to her, to commemorate the friend they loved and supported.

Lauren’s friends wrote on slips of paper words that described her, including being funny, incredible and having a contagious smile.

“But they (her sorority sisters) said she was unapologetically herself,” Marsh said. 

Trinity Acosta, Lauren’s twiddle, which means they share a “big sister” in their Greek family, said they were even called “twins” due to their closeness and likeness.

“Everything about her was truly just everything I had lacked in a best friend in high school, and Lauren met all of those things that I needed in my college friend,” Acosta said.

During Lauren's memorial at the Kappa Delta house, Acosta spoke, as well as Lauren’s big. 

“It was a really tough week for me and my friends because recruitment is a hard process, in general, and especially losing someone so close to you … it was really hard mentally and physically,” Acosta said. “Doing that speech and getting to watch everybody show up and be there for Lauren was super awesome and was very emotional for me and my entire sorority.” 

Acosta said even during Lauren’s hardest times, she was still able to put on a happy face and make the people around her laugh.

“Lauren and her family took me in as if I was their own and it was almost as if I had known them my entire life,” Acosta said.

When Acosta found out about Lauren’s accident, she said her boyfriend at the time drove her up to northern Kentucky to stay with Marsh and help the family process in any way she could.

At the beginning of 2024, Marsh called a friend to start Shine Like Lauren Inc., an organization dedicated to her daughter to provide college scholarships and other opportunities to those who shared similar traits to Lauren.

Marsh knew she needed to do something for Lauren, something to dedicate her legacy to, something deeper.

“I don’t get to see who she would’ve become,” Marsh said. “So this is how I keep walking with her.” 

Marsh continued to grow the organization in any way she could, whether it was through Facebook or Instagram.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” Marsh said. “We just figured it out as we went.”

The organization officially started in February 2024, beginning with Lauren’s alma mater, Simon Kenton High School.

Soon, the organization raised over $15,000 in scholarships, and as time continued, videos filled with students showing their personalities rolled in.

The organization dedicates itself to providing annual scholarships to students who demonstrate their creativity and passion in the form of a video. The scholarship is available to students in Union and the surrounding counties.

“It’s not about being the smartest kid in the room,” Marsh said. “It’s about heart.”

Since its start, the organization has given five scholarships in 2025, anywhere from $2,500-$5,000 per recipient.

“It’s like the community carries her with us,” Marsh said.

Every choice the nonprofit’s board made was meticulous in dedicating its events to Lauren. The colors blue and white were first on their minds, as they decided to make an event based on the colors of each school Lauren went to.

Blue and White Night became an annual event, bringing the community together to honor and dance the night away for Lauren.

“I know it sounds so cliche, and you hear it, especially when young people die, people say, ‘Oh my gosh, they were this light,’” Marsh said. “It is true.”

The community surrounding Marsh and her family grew every day, with the foundation continuing to spread awareness and commemorate Lauren.

“She would love this,” Marsh said. “She would love all of it.”

Back at home, the frame continues to hold its place on the wall.

“She was always the one helping other people shine,” Marsh said. “Now that’s what we try to do for her.”