Family, community members remember Clark Atlanta student killed in car crash: "She brought us together"
A Clark Atlanta University student who died last week in a car crash is being remembered by her family and the people who knew her best.
Morgan Gamble worked to make her community better through her love of media. She was active on Clark Atlanta University's campus as part of CAU-TV and worked with 4 Reel Productions, the school's film club.
She even took her skills to Netflix, working on the reboot of "A Different World."
"I didn't realize I was an educator, but as I'm going into this program, I'm definitely an educator. I take pride in being able to influence others in a positive way," Gamble told CBS News Atlanta earlier this month.
Gamble was seriously injured when a driver struck her vehicle late Tuesday night at an Atlanta intersection. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she died. The driver, identified as Nikolai Dunford, was arrested at the scene and charged with speeding, reckless driving, and first-degree vehicular homicide, according to Atlanta police.
"She was the animation of the family," said Brandi Gamble, Morgan's mother. "Like she brought us together and produced talent shows, family talent shows for holidays."
The student's father, George Gamble II, had similar thoughts.
"I pushed all of my girls to play ball. But she asked me to say that softball's becoming pretty serious right now; they want me to practice and work out, and I really want to stay focused on media," he recalled.
Morgan Gamble spent time with the Make Believe Village Project. The nonprofit gives underserved kids access to media training and a safe place to go after school.
As an intern, Gamble helped the program grow by bringing in volunteers and helping students shine throughout the program.
"To put into the youth and to be able to provide them with programs like this. This is something that's definitely needed in the community," she told CBS News Atlanta.
The people who worked closely with her say her impact lives on.
"When Morgan first came, she was definitely a little bit more reserved, and once we let her understand and showed her who she really was and how she saw herself, how God saw her, then she started to really walk in her light and really started to become who she was," said Make Believe Village's founder and CEO Dorian Forbes.
"Having experienced Morgan, the importance of telling your story, the importance of having mentorship, support, to be able to have a voice in this space." COO Kidada Wilson Hearon said.
Gamble's family is amazed by Morgan's impact.
"We knew who Morgan was to us, which was everything that everybody else felt we just did not know that other people had the same experience, so I'd just say thank you for showing us that love back that she gave to everybody," Brandi Gamble said.
They plan to keep her light shining by making her dreams come true. Her family is raising money for the Morgan Lee Gamble Scholarship on the fundraising website Piggybackr. The money will help rising Clark Atlanta University seniors who are seeking internships without pay.
"If there's something we can do to help fill the gap for some of these kids to continue to drive and continue to help learn and don't worry about missing that week's pay, you know, then that's what we want to do." George Gamble said.
