On July 2, incoming Notre Dame freshman Rebecca Townsend passed away in a tragic accident. Rebecca was hit by a car as she crossed the street walking back from a fireworks show in Danbury, CT.
The Notre Dame community mourns the loss of Rebecca and sends its deepest condolences and prayers to her parents, Dr. Joan Draper and Dr. Gary Townsend, and her sisters, Victoria Townsend, Monica Townsend, Stephanie McGrory and Valerie Hansen.
When word of the tragedy spread, students present on Notre Dame campus lit candles at the grotto in remembrance of Rebecca. The University of Notre Dame plans to further honor the life and memory of Rebecca at the Class of 2019 (the class Rebecca was to be a part of) opening mass.
Only hours before the news of Rebecca had spread, the Class of 2019 was very fresh in my thoughts. Earlier in the day on Thursday, the incoming freshmen received their dorm assignments for the coming year. When I was an incoming freshman, I had no idea what a pivotal role dorm life played at ND. As soon as I walked into Badin Hall on move-in day, though, it became quite clear to me that the places we lived at ND would become our homes and the people within it our family in the strongest sense of the word.
I gawked with excitement that Thursday afternoon as the Badin Hall Class of 2019 Facebook group (for freshman orientation committee members and incoming students) started gaining members like rapid fire. The “tadpoles” (baby Badin Bullfrogs) had finally arrived!
I knew what I didn’t know in my freshman year, and what most of these freshman probably did not anticipate; they were about to join a family. I couldn’t wait to meet them all, nor could my fellow Frosh-O staffers. We would spend hours with them all on orientation weekend, showing them how to loft beds, navigate the dining hall, serenade like a champion and open up to the other girls in our hallowed halls.
After Frosh-O, the freshmen would officially be ladies of Badin Hall, fellow Bullfrogs. Whether a Bullfrog or not, any ND girl can appreciate the bond you have with the ladies of your dorm. The girls in you dorm are the people you make small talk with in the laundry room, the faces across the aisle at dorm mass, the suitemates who will sit up with you in the 24 hour space and watch rom-coms, the hooligans who join you in the occasional (or more than occasional) mischief, the friends who snuggle with on your futon after a long day. Whether you are best friends or not, the women of your dorm are the smiling faces you come home to.
My heart breaks to have lost one of those precious smiling faces.
On Monday, July 6th, family, friends and community members of Brookfield, CT gathered to remember Rebecca at her wake. Jeannie Jacullo, Badin Hall president for the coming year, attended the wake for Rebecca.
“It was a very sad ceremony,” said Jacullo, “but the family was so sweet.”
Jacullo was able to speak to Rebecca’s mother after the ceremony. Her mother told Jeannie that Rebecca had just attended the Fairfield, CT Notre Dame Welcome Night for incoming freshmen. At the event, upperclassmen asked all the freshmen what they were most excited for. Rebecca said that she was most excited for the dorm life at Notre Dame.
Badin Hall empathizes deeply with the Townsend family over our lost sister. Several of Rebecca’s relatives went to Notre Dame. Though she didn’t make it to campus this fall, her answer at the Welcome Night shows that she clearly had an idea of what an amazing community there was waiting for her here. She was as excited to join us as we were to have her. I hope she knows how much all will miss her.
Rebecca was a beautiful girl. She was very talented and participated in many theatrical productions at Immaculate High School. She was an athlete, a member of the volleyball team. And most of all, she was a girl with a deeply loving and charitable heart.
Rebecca started a chapter of “She’s The First” at her high school. This non-profit, which Notre Dame has a chapter of as well, raises money to support young girls in the developing world and give them the means to go to college, pursuing higher education.
As Rebecca’s family remembers the life of their daughter, they ask that in lieu of flowers, those paying their respects donate money to the Rebecca Draper Townsend Memorial Fund. A portion of the money raised will support the She’s The First charity which Rebecca devoted much of her short life to.
The Townsend family has created a Facebook page asking everyone to use the hashtag, #RememberingRebecca, as we pray for her, share memories of her life and serve her memory by doing acts of kindness and charity.
“We have made this page where people can share a memory or document ways they have kept Rebecca’s spirit alive by showing kindness to others. Whether paying for a meal, volunteering time, or donating to a cause, we all have the opportunity to pay it forward every day, just as Rebecca strived to do,” the family wrote.
On Tuesday, July 7th, Rebecca was laid to rest in Newton, CT near her hometown of Brookfield.
The Badin family, Notre Dame family and the thousands of people whose lives Rebecca touched will miss her dearly and hold her in our hearts forever.
And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
– An Irish Blessing
The HCND application is now open! For more information contact Rebecca Rogalski at rebeccarogalski@hercampus.com or Katrina Linden at katrinalinden@hercampus.com
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