Fundraiser June 7 Benefits Penn State Scholarships

Foundation provides financial assistance in memory of Karli Short

By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
May 29, 2024
Posted in: Announcements

Brandon Short, center, and his wife Mahreen, right, with their late daughter Karli, left, outside the library at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport. Brandon Short is a Penn State alumnus and a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. Karli Short was murdered in 2021. Her ex-boyfriend is awaiting trial on charges connected to her death. (Submitted photo courtesy Short family, all rights reserved)

Friends and family of Karli Short will hold a fundraiser June 7 to raise money for the scholarship fund in her name at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport — and for additional scholarships which will soon be extended to students at the University Park campus.

The third-annual Karli Short Better Tomorrow Scholarship Fund dinner will be held at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown Pittsburgh. Tickets are available online and start at $225.

Short, 26, a personal care worker who also had a catering business, was found dead outside her Christy Park home on Sept. 13, 2021. She was approximately four months pregnant at the time.

A 2014 graduate of McKeesport Area High School, Karli Short studied cosmetology and worked part-time as a hairstylist and makeup artist before beginning a career as a health care worker at two local personal care homes.

Short’s family said in a prepared statement that they are trying to create a positive legacy to celebrate her spirit and draw meaning from the tragedy.

“When we searched for ways to honor Karli and support victims of gun violence, we could think of no better way than to help students achieve the American dream by supporting their education and creating a better tomorrow,” said Brandon Short, Karli’s father and a 1999 Penn State alumnus.

Short and his wife, Mahreen Short, formed the Karli Short Better Tomorrow Foundation in 2022, and gifts from family, friends and other donors have allowed the foundation to endow the Karli Short Better Tomorrow Scholarship for Penn State students with financial need who have been affected by gun violence.

More than $800,000 has been raised so far, Short said.

The first scholarship awards were made to five students enrolled at Penn State Greater Allegheny, but the foundation is growing the scholarship’s scope to include students enrolled at University Park.

Gun violence continues to impact the lives of “too many young people,” Short said. “We believe that the best way to celebrate Karli is to help these students overcome trauma and loss and pursue their dreams.”

The June 7 event will be hosted by Penn State alumnus Anthony “Spice” Adams, who played defensive tackle for the Penn State Nittany Lions and later had a career with the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Adams currently works as a broadcaster for ABC television and other networks.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey also is scheduled to attend the event.

Short said that each year going forward, the first five scholarships funded by the scholarship endowment will be awarded to students at Greater Allegheny campus, with the next five scholarships directed to undergraduates enrolled at University Park.

Any additional funds can support scholarships for students throughout the University who have been affected by gun violence, he said.

“The trauma and burden that come from being connected to a tragic loss of this manner creates scars that are most often invisible,” said Megan Nagel, chancellor and chief academic officer at Penn State Greater Allegheny. “A scholarship dedicated specifically for students impacted by gun violence acknowledges this burden and sends a clear message that there can truly be a better tomorrow. By easing some of the financial burden of a higher education along with the mentorship and connection to the Karli Short Better Tomorrow Foundation, I believe there can truly be a lasting impact.”

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi offered her gratitude to the Short family and the scholarship’s supporters.

“Penn State has always represented opportunity for our students, and opportunity is especially precious for those who have faced tragedy and yet are persevering toward their hopes and goals,” she said in a statement. “The university is deeply grateful to the Short family for entrusting us with carrying forward Karli’s legacy of compassion and kindness and inspiring us to serve students who will represent her values throughout their lives.”

Allegheny County police have charged Isaac C. Smith, 28, the father of Karli Short’s unborn baby boy, with homicide in connection with their deaths. Jury selection in Smith’s trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 17 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

In addition to her father, Short was survived by her mother, Krista Pettis; her siblings Miriam and Noah Short; her grandmother, Ramona Wilkes; her grandfather, Zach Pettis; her uncle Jeff Blackwell; her aunt Roxanne Mask; and aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Originally published May 29, 2024.

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