Missy Jenkins Smith, survivor of the 1997 Heath High School shooting, addresses South Marshall Middle School students last week at SMMS.
Students at South Marshall Middle School learned about the real-life implications of bullying and overcoming adversity.
Missy Jenkins Smith, survivor of the 1997 shooting at Heath High School, on Friday visited SMMS and shared her story of survival and hope in the wake of the attack that left her paralyzed from the chest down. Three students were killed in the attack; she was among five students injured in the attack. Smith, who was a 15-year-0ld sophomore participating in a prayer group before school at the time of the attack, spoke to students about her memories of the shooting, as well as how she faced her fears and overcame the physical and emotional obstacles associated with the incident. She also addressed how bullying contributed to the shooting.
She has also penned her memoir and faced her shooter, Michael Carneal. Carneal was 14 at the time of the incident and reportedly suffered bullying prior to the shooting.
Smith has since forgiven the shooter — later confronting him in prison — and gone on to serve as a counselor for troubled students. She graduated from college and married, later having two children. Smith has been named “Kentuckian of the Year,” one of Ladies’ Home Journal’s “Most fascinating women” and appeared on such shows as “Oprah” and “Dateline.”
For more information on Smith, visit missyjenkinssmith.com.