JEFFERSON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — 18-year-old Benjamen Redix was set to graduate from White Hall High School last year.
However, just one day before he was set to walk across the stage he was accidentally killed.
Redix died while driving in North Little Rock with Jimari Douglas who was reportedly taking a gun apart in the car when it went off and shot Redix in the back.
Now, Redix's family is turning their pain into purpose.
"He would always say, 'Granny, I'm gonna be great one day. Everybody is going to know my name.' We just said keep doing what you're doing, but we didn't know this day would be here for everybody to know his name," said Redix's grandmother, Flo Rambert.
Redix was a star athlete at White Hall competing in track and football. He was on his way to a full-ride scholarship at Southern Arkansas University after he graduated, but he never got to attend.
"We are learning to push through the pain for a purpose and that purpose is to help other youths and parents," said Rambert.
The family of Redix has started the Benjamen Redix Project. Through donations and sponsorships, they are providing scholarships, sports camps, and resources for kids in Jefferson County.
They are also starting a program through the project that will help boys through mentorships.
"Learning how to do guy things from learning how to tie a tie, learning how to change the oil, [and] learning how to be a positive role model. We have to have that," she described.
Something his family said they admired so much about him— his positive spirit and his willingness to help others.
"I'm here to say that he made us so proud. When we get sad or whatever, we just think of the things he said," said Rambert.
Like "No worries, God got me." It was a saying he would tell his friends and family that they now wear as a reminder of his strength and faith.
For more information on the Benjamen Redix Project, you can email benjamenredixproject@gmail.com.