Scholarship to Honor Sacred Heart University Student Killed in Crash

The H.W. Wilson Foundation has given $100,000 to Sacred Heart University to establish an endowed scholarship in memory of Kaitlyn Doorhy.

Doorhy died in August at the age of 20 from injuries suffered when she was hit by a car while crossing the street near the 2900 block of Madison Avenue in Bridgeport. She was set to begin her junior year of college at Sacred Heart University.

Read more about the scholarship from the press release below:

The scholarship will be given each year to a junior student from Long Island with financial need. It is anticipated that the first award will be given for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Harold Regan, president of the H.W. Wilson Foundation, says the board of the foundation was deeply moved by the news of Kaitlyn’s untimely passing. “We pray for Kaitlyn’s family and hope this gesture can add to the many joyful memories of her extraordinary life,” he said.

The Foundation was established by Halsey W. Wilson in 1952 to support the needs of company employees and retirees. By 1957, the Foundation directed its funding efforts to support libraries, library associations, historical societies, cultural programs and scholarships for library and information science programs accredited by the American Library Association. Major donors to the Foundation included Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Wilson and the H.W. Wilson Company.

“We are very grateful to the H.W. Wilson Foundation for this generous gift in Kaitlyn’s memory,” said Judite Vamvakides, director of Annual Giving at SHU. “It will ensure that Kaitlyn is remembered each year and that future students will learn about all that she meant to Sacred Heart.”

Doorhy was also honored recently by her four roommates who planted a tree in her memory outside the Chapel of the Holy Spirit on the SHU campus. The tree was dedicated during Family Weekend and a plaque was placed nearby before a crowd that included approximately 70 of Doorhy’s visiting friends and family members. Click here to view photos from the dedication.

(Photo credit: Rest in Peace Kait Doorhy Facebook page)

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