Penn State York student 'never let cancer define her'
Penn State York student and Dover High School grad Maddie Hill, 19, died in June after a lengthy battle with cancer. But her Penn State peers are refusing to let her memory fade.
Hill will be remembered and honored at Penn State York at a memorial ceremony on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the campus gym in the Joe and Rosie Ruhl Student Community Center. The event was organized by Penn State York Benefiting THON, of which Hill had been a member. The event is free and open to the public.
The group will sell drinks and snacks with proceeds going to support THON and children battling pediatric cancer. In addition, a plaque honoring Hill will be placed in the Student Government Association offices.
THON is a student-run philanthropy that works to raise money for cancer research. It has donated more than $137 million to Four Diamonds at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, according to a release.
Hill was a Penn State York student majoring in human development and family studies and a 2015 graduate of Dover High School.
“Maddie never let her cancer define her,” said Julia Byerly, a representative for Penn State York Benefiting THON. “She worked diligently to raise money for THON and the Four Diamonds, even while undergoing chemotherapy."
The ceremony will be held between Penn State York's men's and women's basketball games against Penn State Lehigh Valley. Basketball players have planned to wear #fightlikehill shirts to show their support. The phrase “fight like Hill” became the mantra of Dover community members during Hill's battle with cancer.
“Maddie was so special in so many ways," said Cora Dzubak, director of the Nittany Success Center at Penn State York. "She had a wonderful sense of humor and could always see the bright side of any situation. She had the genuine ability to focus on the other person. It was always about the other person, never herself."