Stabbing victim finds 'silver lining' in Brett Wiese's murder through memorial scholarship

It's been nearlyfour years since Colton Lewis and his good friend, Brett Wiese, were stabbed at a house party in northwest Calgary.

Lewis spent three days in a coma but survived.

Wiese did not.

On Tuesday, Lewis will be honoured at the Generosity of Spirit Awards for turning tragedy into a legacy for his friend by setting up a memorial scholarship in Wiese's honour.

'Positive light'

"I had two punctured lungs, I had a puncture in my aorta as well, multiple stab wounds to the back, and one to the face," Lewis told the Calgary Eyeopener.

• Brett Wiese family speaks after Mitchell Harkes found guilty of murder
• Brett Wiese's killer's sentence reduced to 4 years by Alberta Court of Appeal

"You need to focus on the things that are important in life and the most important thing in life is love,"Lewis said.

"I remember saying that when I woke up in the hospital, 'I don't have any room in my heart for hate.'"

As soon as he learned of his friend's fate, Lewis began hatching a plan to create a memorial scholarship for his university colleague.

Before the incident, the pair were studying atthe HaskayneSchool of Business so Lewisrang up the dean of the school, Jim Dewald,while he was still recovering in hospital.

"He actually came to visit me ... and I just suggested that we wanted to do something with the university to shine a positive light on Brett and the incident, rather than all the tragedy that had happened," he said.

"And the ball started rolling from there."

Outstanding Youth Philanthropist Award

Since its creation in 2013, more than 70 donors have contributed more than $200,000 to the Brett Wiese Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The first award was named a year later to a student pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Calgary.

"We wanted the scholarship to be as true as possible to Brett and the ideal candidate would represent Brett with all the similar qualities that he had," said Lewis.

"Very genuine guy athletic, dedicated student. Just an awesome guy."

• MORE CRIME NEWS |Slain 80-year-old woman's family blames 'hideous illness,' not husband with suspected dementia
• MORE NEWS |Trump's corporate tax rollback won't siphon businesses from Alberta, economist predicts

For turning tragedy into legacy, Lewis will be honoured over the lunch hour onTuesday with the Outstanding Youth Philanthropist Award at the annual Generosity of Spirit Awards.

The event is hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals at the BMO Centre in Calgary.

"It's findingthings like this with the silver lining," Lewis said.

"It gives me the opportunity to remember Brett for the type of person that he was and be able to talk about Brett on a positive canvas, versus all the negativity that transpired after the incident and through the trial."

A jury found Mitchell Harkesguilty of second-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault for the January2013stabbings of Lewis and Wiese.He was handed a life sentence with no parole for at least 12 years and has asked the Alberta Court of Appeal for a new trial.

But the woman who actually made the final fatal blow that killed Wiese had her sentence reduced and will spend just four years behind bars, dueto the fact that she was a young offender at the time of the incident. Heridentity is protected by a publication ban.