Impact of Giving

When Summer (BA’79) and Leo Coyle (BA’77, BEd’79, MEd’90) lost their only daughter Lyla Coyle (BA’07) to cancer in January 2024, they set out to fulfill Lyla’s wishes to create a scholarship in the new bachelor of social work program at UNB Saint John. Lyla had applied for the program in December 2023, completely unaware that she had cancer. Within only a week of developing symptoms and being diagnosed, Lyla succumbed to cancer on January 13, 2024. She indicated to her mother at the hospital that she wanted to “pass the torch” by establishing a scholarship. Now, Summer and Leo are taking Lyla’s legacy of generosity even further by including UNB in their estate planning.

The Lyla H. Coyle Memorial Scholarship in Social Work is awarded, based on financial need and scholastic achievement, to a woman enrolled in the bachelor of social work program on the Saint John campus. Two more scholarships in keeping with Lyla’s empathy and altruism are currently in the planning stages.

Asked what they would say to fellow alumni who might be considering including UNB in their planned giving, the Coyles advise thinking about how your passions might be put to use bettering the lives of others. “Think of a cause you’re passionate about,” says Summer, “or something a family member who passed away felt passionately about. How would you like to see a student transform this world to make it a better place?” Leo agrees, saying, “It has to be meaningful.”

“Education is the key to everything,” says Summer. “No matter what the field, education will open the doors for new discovery, new developments, and make every aspect of life better.”

Find out how you can establish an award at UNB in memory of a loved one.