Petit
remembered as an athlete, role model
By Hillary
Wool, The
Published on
Friday, July 27, 2007
Friends and family members are
mourning the death of 17-year-old Hayley Petit, who was to matriculate as a
member of the Dartmouth Class of 2011. Petit, along with her mother and sister,
Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and Michaela, 11, was murdered when two men invaded
the family's home in
Hayley, who graduated this year
from Miss Porter's School, an all-girls academy in
At Miss Porter's, where Hayley
excelled in academics, athletics and other activities, students and faculty knew
her as a campus leader and a compassionate young woman -- a student who stood
out among her peers.
"Hayley was a leader publicly and
privately," said Head of School Burch Ford, who was Hayley's adviser at Miss
Porter's. "Her profile was very high, and her presence was profoundly felt, but
this was all particularly true without her ever calling attention to herself. In
doing the right thing and giving her best in everything she did, she also gave
encouragement and confidence for others to do the same."
Ford and others characterized
Hayley as a role model at Miss Porter's, who both students and faculty looked to
and respected.
Just days before her graduation
from Miss Porter's, Hayley suffered a collapsed lung and was hospitalized.
Although she was in serious condition and her doctors advised her not to attend
the ceremony, Hayley, in emblematic fashion, left her hospital bed to graduate
with her peers.
"She came to graduation with her
bandages and dress, and she got a standing ovation," Ford said, adding that her
presence was appreciated because she was such an important member of the class.
"[By the end of the ceremony], she could hardly navigate at that point, but she
stayed the whole time and went back to the hospital
after."
Hayley seemed to bring an aura of
inspiration with her wherever she went.
"She just had this presence that
not a whole lot of people have," said Harlan Trevithick, who rowed with Hayley
at Miss Porter's and was the captain of the crew team during Hayley's junior
year. "Whenever we were rowing or seeing each other on campus, it was always all
smiles. Everyone knew that she was a resource. She was there for people. She had
this presence of complete stability, and she was so comfortable in her own skin
-- so comfortable with herself she could do anything. She never had inhibitions
about doing things -- she did all these things in such a humble
way."
Trevithick and others spoke of
Hayley's dedication as a driving force on the team, even before she became
captain her senior year.
"Whenever we were together as a
team or meeting just as first boat, she would always have something to say to
support everyone," Trevithick said. "Hayley was quiet, but she had this strong
force. The other captain would present something to the team, and if Hayley was
enthusiastic about it, it was an immediate response for everyone to do
it."
Hayley, a three-sport athlete, was
captain of the basketball team and ran cross-country track as well. Other
teammates described the quiet, humble perseverance and energetic spirit that
Hayley brought when she played any sport.
"When she came in as a freshman she
was shy and quiet, but she grew into this great leader," said Erica Dressler,
who was captain of the Miss Porter's basketball team when Hayley was a
sophomore. Hayley played on the varsity basketball team beginning her freshman
year.
"It was really cool to watch her
come into her own. She was always helping everyone, was really reliable and
really easy to get along with. It's funny because she was so friendly. Sometimes
we wanted her to be aggressive, but she didn't have it in her. She was just so
gentle and kind."
Hayley also served as co-editor in
chief of Chattequa, the school's journal for academic writing, and contributed
much of her time to raising money and awareness about multiple sclerosis, a
degenerative muscle disease that her mother was diagnosed with eight years
ago.
Since then, Hayley had raised over
$50,000 towards MS through a team called Hayley's Hope. In the spring, Hayley
gave a speech at the Rotary Club where her grandfather was a
member.
At
"She wanted to become a doctor --
she was going to study ways to make it easier for MS patients," said Kat Bunko,
Hayley's best friend since age four. "She wanted to do everything she could to
make sure her mom got better."
Maria Lasarkis, director of
admissions at
"We got the sense of someone who
was truly compassionate," Lasarkis said. "That's what set her apart from other
highly accomplished students."
In her personal essays, Hayley
wrote about how she looked up to her father in her aspirations to become a
doctor and about her fundraising work for MS.
"We saw in Hayley a young woman
with a great deal of potential to positively impact the