BY JEORGIA JAHUMPA
Stonehill alumni created a fundraiser to dedicate spaces on campus in honor of the late Sydney Ledoux.
Ledoux, 23, graduated from Stonehill in 2022 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Speech-Language Pathology. She passed away in November 2023.
She was a district-wide speech and language pathology assistant who served students for multiple years as she pursued her college degree.
Lexie Braun and Caitlyn Bowen, ’22, organized a fundraiser in honor of their late friend.
“We thought that would be an awesome way of showing support for her and giving back to Stonehill,” Braun said.
Bowen said that she and Braun started the fundraiser on February 11 with an initial goal of $10,000. However, she said that they reached their goal in under 48 hours.
“It was the craziest thing because I kept refreshing the page and it was more and more donations. Some people donated $500. You could see the impact that she had on people,” Braun said.
The pair have raised $13,130 since the fundraiser went live from 282 donors.
Braun said that they are finalizing the wording of the two plaques that will be placed on campus. She said the first plaque will go in the Shields building on the bulletin board next to Dunkin, while the second plaque will go in the collaboration space on the second floor in Meehan.
“She spent a lot of time studying in the study rooms in Meehan,” Braun said, “It’s also a new building so we thought it would be nice to get a plaque in there knowing that it will be around for a long time.”
Bowen said Ledoux was deeply involved on campus. She said she served as an RA, the President of the National Resident Hall Council, worked with Habitat for Humanity and advocated getting ASL as a foreign language on campus.
“When I was the head RA, I could see the impact she had on her residents. Some of those residents became really close friends with her,” Bowen said.
Braun said that they decided that the remaining funds were going to be donated to the Rev. Thomas M. Halkovic, C.S.C. Student Leadership Scholarship. The scholarship provides funds to students with financial needs who participate in campus activities and leadership positions.
“She was paying her way through school and received scholarships from Stonehill,” Braun said, “She utilized those scholarship funds and now she will be able to impact someone else and help them to get through school.”
Braun and Bowen said they are thankful for all the love and support they received from the Stonehill community.
“The Stonehill community has been amazing. Everyone was so quick to share the GoFundMe link and donate if they could. It was spread around so fast, and we didn’t even know what to expect, we were just so excited and overwhelmed,” said Braun.
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