Friends Honor the Memory - Voices of September 11th

Friends honor the memory ofWTC victim Mary Lou Hague"BETTER TO REMEMBER MS. HAGUE DOING WHATHER FRIENDS CALLED HER HAPPY DANCE, WAVINGHER ARMS IN THE AIRAND, THE MINUTE SHEHEARD THE MUSIC, HOLLERING, "WOO-HOOO!"FROM A PROFILE PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES. SEPT 28. 2001Though the music stopped for MaryLou Hague on Sept. II, 2001, a happydance continues in her name. Her friendsstarted the celebration in memory of the1996 UNe graduate who died in the collapseof tower two of the World TradeCenter. The first step came in an anonymous$25,000 donation that created theMary Lou Hague Memorial ScholarshipFund at UNe. The second and third: twofund-raisers that brought sorority sisters,friends, acquaintances and family togetherin New York to share their affectionfor Hague and honor her memory with$28,000 in contributions for the fund."Mary Lou would want to keep givingback to the University," said ElizabethKimzey, a Delta Delta Delta sorority sisterof Hague's and one of the organizersof the events. "She loved Carolina."Heather Fain, another sorority sister,agrees. "Carolina was part of her identityand who she was. She would want to makethat opportunity available for others."Joining Kimzey and Fain in the fundraiserswere Sara Morris, Suzanne Wingoand Jenny Kaufman, a friend, Duke graduateand Hague's former roommate inNew York.Established in 2001, the Mary LouHagueMemorialScholarship isawarded to astudent based onacademicachievement andfinancial need.Preference isgiven to studentsfromHague's homestate of WestVirginia. AaronRussell ofMary Lou HagueParkersburg-Mary Lou's hometown-andvaledictorian of ParkersburgSouth High School, received the firstMary Lou Hague Memorial Scholarship.In a letter to Liza Adams, Hague's mother,he wrote, "Thank you for giving methe honor of accepting this scholarship inMary Lou's name. I will strive to dowhatever it takes to live up to what I amsure would be the highest of standardsexpected by Mary Lou."The first fund-raiser, which nettedmore than $5,000 for the scholarship, wassee Hague page 15

Hague, conti nued from page 9held in October 2002 on what wouldhave been Mary Lou's 27th birthday. Onecheck to the scholarship was especiallynotable. It came weeks after the eventfrom a person no one knew-just someonewho had seen Hague's picture tapedto windows, tacked to kiosks, stapled toutility poles and looking out at him fromnewspapers and television."For this gentleman, Mary Lou's facebecame the face of the Sept. II terroristattacks," Kaufman said. "He said he rememberedthinking how much she must havebeen loved. Through a friend of a friend, he. got an e-mail about the fund-raiser forMary Lou and sent a $100 check."The second fund-raiser, held Sept. II,2003, netted more than $23,000 for thefund. "About mid to late August, we gota call from Mary Lou's mother saying sheand the family were coming to NewYork for the memorial events," Kaufinansaid. "She wanted to know if we couldhold the fund-raiser on the 11th.Everyone has complicated feelingsaround that day, but we wanted to honorthe family's wishes. The end result wassurprising: people seemed to want tohave somewhere to gather. They wantedto turn that day into something positive.It was a beautiful evening."Printed invitations were mailed invitingpeople to the Flute Flatiron in NewYork City for an open bar, hors d'oeuvresand silent champagne auction. A $40admission charge was required, $25 ofwhich went to the scholarship. Thosewho couldn't attend were asked to replywith a donation: more than 85 percentsent a check for the scholarship fund.Hague's friends found that holding thefund-raisers have helped them mourntheir loss and begin to heal."When someone you love dies, peoplehandle it in different ways," Kaufmansaid. "For me, the question was 'How canI make Mary Lou's memory live on?'Organizing the events and adding to thescholarship have done that for me."Kimzey, Fain, Kaufman, Morris andWingo hope to continue the fund-raisers,bringing people together each yearto remember Hague."Mary Lou felt the University betteredher in all respects," Kimzey said."She was part of the Campus Y's LittleBuddy program for four years. She participatedin student government and wastreasurer of our sorority for two years.She majored in business administration.She was enthralled with everything thecampus had to offer." •CHRYS BULLARDWith the initial $25,000 donation, the MaryLou Hague scholarship endowment currentlystands at $75,000. Donations are still beingaccepted. To contribute, contact Arthur Gregg,regional major gifts rifficer, at 919-962-3425 orarthur....gregg@unc.edu.