Arson Victim Remembered As Ambitious, Honored With CSU Engineering Scholarship
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) – The legacy of an immigrant from Senegal will live on for decades, or longer, thanks to a new scholarship from Kiewit Corporation, Colorado State University and dozens of donors. The new Djibril "Jibby" Diol Engineering Scholarship was created to advance the education of future engineers who want to give back to their communities through public service and engineering.
Diol was tragically killed in a case of arson in August of 2020.
One of Diol's best friends, Ousman Ba, met Diol when they were attending CSU. The two connected and bonded deeply through their native roots.
"We share the same culture. We are from the same tribe in Africa, from the same county and spoke the same language," Ba told CBS4's Dillon Thomas. "He was really involved at CSU."
The duo were continuously together. However, Ba said Diol was quick to turn down socializing opportunities when there were opportunities to further his education available at the same time.
"The man was committed to his education. He believed in education and empowering himself, his community and those around him," Ba said.
Diol continued his studies and eventually landed a job as a civil engineer with Kiewit. Diol worked on the Central 70 Project helping construction crews build and install retaining walls in the newly-built Interstate 70 tunnel through Denver.
"Jibby worked on the walls that many people see when they drive through the new tunnel and lowered section of the Central Project," said Jason Proskovec, Project Director for the Central 70 Project.
Proskovec said Diol had an infectious smile, attitude and a handshake that was unforgettable.
"We lost a great friend and colleague in Jibby," Proskovec said.
Jibby's dream was to take what he learned in Colorado back to his native land of Senegal. There, he hoped to help his people develop a more modern community.
"His inspiration was to take his knowledge and what he learned here and take it back to Senegal," Ba said. "Some of the villages, he wanted to create infrastructure there. That was his dream."
CSU and Kiewit teamed up, following Diol's death, to create a scholarship in his name. The scholarship, worth $25,000 a year, will be given to engineering students who value service and education and who take pride in impacting other lives. Ba and Proskovec said that's just the kind of person Diol was.
"Having those live on through other college graduates would be very beneficial," Proskovec said.
Kiewit pledged to match the first $12,500 worth of donations to the scholarship. In just one week the scholarship raised nearly $11,000.
Those involved with the scholarship said they hoped donations would raise potentially as much as $50,000. If that happened, two people could be given $25,000 scholarships, or several people could be recognized with smaller amounts with the additional funds.
"Hopefully his legacy lives forever. That is really what we want to carry here with this scholarship," Ba said.
You can donate to the scholarship fund here.