Rosemary and Dave Keller

Tom Keller (B.F.A.’08) is remembered as a skilled welder and hardworking member of the VCU theatre department shop, but most of all as a warm, affable person who welcomed new students to the program and took them under his wing. “He was just a great guy to work with. He had a way of just saying something that brought everybody to laughter, that made any difficult task easier to do,” says Kevin McGranahan, scene shop foreman and facilities manager for the VCU School of the Arts Department of Theatre.

Tom, who was studying technical theatre, died in 2007, just after completing his junior year. He was granted his degree posthumously in 2008.

That same year, Rosemary and Dave Keller, Tom’s parents, established the Thomas John Keller Endowed Scholarship in Theater to honor his memory. The continue to support the scholarship

Keller was an industrious and accomplished student; the set of metal stairs that he built continue to be used in VCUarts productions. He “was one of the guys who was always here first, always willing to pitch in,” McGranahan recalls. He also excelled academically, making the dean’s list each of his three years at VCU.

The scholarship supports students who, like Keller, demonstrate an outstanding work ethic and positive attitude in service to the theater department.

“We wanted the award to go to a theater student that displayed passion, superior performance and all those things that you would like to see in a student,” Dave said.