On Oct. 12, 2009, Sgt. Mickey Hutchens of the Winston Salem Police Department was shot to death while responding to a domestic violence complaint.

Today, senior Megan Snider is running a campaign called “Beautifully Brave” to provide awareness, resources, and education about domestic violence in honor of Sgt. Hutchens.

“This is a campaign against domestic violence in memory of my dad’s best friend, Mickey Hutchens,” said Snider. “It hit really close to home because he was so close to my family.”

In commemoration of Sgt. Hutchens, his daughter and Snider are raising funds to create a domestic violence resource center called “Mickey’s House.”

“My dad is a police officer like Sgt. Hutchens,” said Snider to WXII News. “It could have been my dad.”

“Beautifully Brave,” which began on Jan. 22, hosts workshops aimed at educating the public about domestic violence, vigils, and a traveling exhibit expected to visit many libraries in the area. Statistics and domestic violence facts are included in the campaign.

“I’m a Bonner Scholar, and a lot of what we do is trying to educate and advocate within the community and build allies,” said Snider in a Jan. 4 article on Guilford.edu. “So that’s kind of part of the goal of this campaign: to educate and build community and to show people that anyone can be affected.”

On Dec. 19, Hutchens’ family was awarded the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a gesture that reminds the public that the victims of domestic violence are not limited to just the immediate victims. Even Guilford College is not exempt from domestic violence.

“There is definitely dating violence that goes unreported,” said Snider. “When it is reported, people don’t talk about it in the larger community and the cycle continues.”

A double major in elementary education and religious studies, Snider plans on attending Wake Forest Graduate School. Her campaign against domestic violence will still be one of her priorities.

“I have been working with the Mayor, city council, and chief of police of Winston Salem,” said Snider. “We work on local levels to educate and empower. We are working in local high schools in Winston Salem, as well Guilford County, too.”

The “Beautifully Brave” campaign and Snider herself have been receiving local support and praise. Snider recently received a North Carolina Campus Compact Community Impact Student Award for her work on the campaign in addition to other community service.

“I have never seen someone that went out and did what their heart led them to more than Megan has,” said Sgt. Hutchens’ wife, Beth Hutchens to WXII. “She has done this all on her own without prompting from an adult. It’s just been in her heart.”

According to The New York Times, three women are killed every day in the United States due to domestic violence.

But as Snider is reminding us, there are other victims.

While domestic violence devastates families, these disputes are one of the most dangerous scenarios for a police officer, a realization that Snider is bringing to the public’s attention.