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When an EF4 tornado ripped through the city of Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2011, 53 people lost their lives. Six of the fatalities were students at the University of Alabama.Nicole Mixon, 21 of Mulga, was one of the students killed in the storm. Her mother, Bonnie Maharrey remembers her daughter as a smart girl with a bright future.“She got a full ride scholarship to the University of Alabama," said Maharrey. "She wanted to become an accountant, and sorta wanted to become a teacher."Late in the afternoon on April 27, 2011, Mixon’s plans came to a screeching halt. Maharrey said she was on the phone with her daughter as the storm was approaching Tuscaloosa."She told me she was fixin�� to get in the bath tub and that she loved me. I told her to call me when it was over, and I never heard back," Maharrey said.The morning after the storm hit, Maharrey drove from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa to search for her daughter. She said she started at Nicole’s apartment, then went to DCH Hospital where she searched almost every floor.When her search turned up empty, Maharrey said a representative from the University of Alabama picked her up and drove her to the VA Hospital in Tuscaloosa where her worst nightmare became a reality."I thought she might be hurt, but not that bad," Maharrey said.In the five years since Nicole’s death, Maharrey said her broken heart still hasn’t healed."Every day is a struggle. I pass the cemetery every day coming to work, and every day coming home,�� Maharrey said. “You don't ever get over it.”Maharrey said she takes comfort knowing her daughter’s legacy continues through the Melanie Nicole Mixon Scholarship. It’s awarded to a University of Alabama student each year.Donations came be made to the Melanie Nicole Mixon Scholarship through the University of Alabama Alumni Association.