The family of the late Brittany Zimmermann, the University of Wisconsin junior who was killed in her Doty Street apartment in 2008, announced Monday a scholarship will be awarded by the family to a UW freshman from her hometown of Marshfield, Wis.

According to university spokesperson John Lucas, the scholarship was awarded last May at Zimmermann’s alma mater, Marshfield High School. Details about the recipient are unavailable both for privacy and for the safety of that student.

In the future, the scholarship will be awarded annually to a high school senior from Marshfield who intends to study medicine at UW. Lucas said the Zimmermann family wanted to honor Zimmermann by creating this opportunity for students interested in studying medicine, Zimmermann’s field of interest.

Lucas added the family is looking for a way, even in her absence, to further her spirit and presence in the community.

According to Zimmermann’s mother Jean Zimmermann, setting up a scholarship would be the best way for people to remember Brittany for years to come.

“That was really one of the only ways that we could continually have people thinking about her every year,” Jean Zimmermann said.

She added that giving the scholarship to a UW student was appropriate, given how much Zimmermann enjoyed attending UW.

“Brittany loved UW-Madison. That’s the only place she ever wanted to go to college,” she said. “We thought it was fitting to make sure that that’s where the scholarship was headed.”

It was equally important the scholarship go to a Marshfield graduate, the high school that gave Zimmermann her first steps to becoming the person she was, she added.

Other Marshfield High School graduates who attend UW have said they thought the scholarship was a very appropriate way to remember Zimmermann.

“I think it a great way to honor her memory,” said UW junior and Marshfield High School graduate Ashley McCarthy. “Each person that is awarded the scholarship will carry the thought and respect with them for the rest of their lives.

People interested in donating to the scholarship fund should contact the Marshfield Medical Center Credit Union at 715-387-8686.