10-05-2025
Family accepts posthumous University of Arkansas degree, starts foundation in daughter's memory
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — More than 5,600 students are set to graduate this weekend from the University of Arkansas, but for some families, they're accepting posthumous degrees on their child's behalf.
That's the case for Robert and Alice Korey, who took to the stage during the commencement ceremony Friday for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, accepting a Communications degree for their daughter, Elana Korey, who was killed in a car accident by an impaired driver July 28, 2024. However, her parents have tried to make the most out of a tragic situation, starting the foundation, Ollie's Angels, to warn against the dangers of driving under the influence.
'We are living proof. It can absolutely happen to you and to your family,' Alice Korey said. 'People need to speak up if they see something that isn't right. They need to speak up. Don't be a bystander, and, of course, don't drive impaired.'
Graduation ceremonies around Northwest Arkansas, River Valley
Eight days before Elana Korey was set to be driven back to Fayetteville ahead of her junior year, she was hit and killed in Stowe, Vermont.
Robert Korey said accepting her degree on her behalf was a way to 'stand up for her, so she's never forgotten.'
However, the Koreys are keeping their daughter's memory alive in a more permanent way, helping others just like they remember her always doing. The foundation's namesake, Ollie's Angels, is paying homage to a dog that Elana Korey grew very close to, named Ollie.
A friend of Elana Korey's let Ollie go back home with her for one summer, Robert Korey said, and the two built an unbreakable bond.
'Even after she had passed away, he would go down and wait for her at the bedroom door,' Alice Korey said. 'That is one lasting physical item of her love, and she loved him so much. We're grateful for her friend that said it was the right thing to do for us to continue to take care of him.'
Ollie's now being trained to be a therapy dog, as one of the foundation's three pet ambassadors, alongside Grace, a 3-year-old German shepherd, and Juno, a panda shepherd mix.
Robert and Alice Korey are hoping to prevent tragedies for other families, like the one they experienced and are still grieving more than nine months later.
'Stay in, put the keys down and catch a safe ride,' Robert Korey said. 'That's really what we want to do across the student population.'
Moving forward, Ollie's Angels is looking to partner with a sponsor to get a campus ambassador at each Southeastern Conference university, as an on-site advocate helping spread the foundation's message against impaired driving.
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