Once a Hawkeye, always a Hawkeye

Mollie became a Hawkeye, following in her mother’s footsteps by attending the UI. She was working toward a major in psychology, and immersed herself deeply in campus life by joining Dance Marathon and getting a job at the Medical Education Research Facility café.

Laura found her love of art while studying at the UI, and encouraged Mollie to take art courses after she fulfilled some required classes. After Mollie’s death, Laura said it was hard for her to come back to Iowa City, because she knew how much Mollie loved the town.

“Mollie was really going to blossom in Iowa City,” she said.

Kim saw Mollie’s coming-of-age firsthand, as she works on campus. She and Mollie would meet at a bench in the Old Capitol Mall sometimes, and Kim would drive her back to Brooklyn. She said they became closer as Mollie settled into campus, and always looked forward to their talks in the car.

While Mollie was missing, Kim said in a tearful voice that she would park her car in the same spot every day and keep the doors unlocked, just in case Mollie showed up and needed a place to sit or hide. She would also go to the bench and look around. She said it took her a long time to be able to return to that bench.

“I thought… she could be here as well as anywhere else,” she said. “She could maybe make her way back here at some point.”

Mollie is still present on campus, Kim said, through the $3,500-worth of donations from her Dance Marathon account or the memorial fund that benefits the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital psychiatric department.

When Laura planned Mollie’s funeral, she had mourners send donations to the Children’s Hospital in lieu of flowers. When she was asked which area of the hospital she would like to dedicate the funds, the answer was simple.

“Without even thinking the words just came out of my mouth, ‘Children and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit,’ because Mollie wanted to be a psychiatrist and she loved children,” Laura said.

Her presence sometimes emerges in more subtle ways.

Kim’s son stopped one day to speak to a homeless person. After handing out a Kindness Card, a card with a quote from a speech Mollie gave, the person said they knew Mollie. Mollie would stop and speak with them when she had time.

The quote reads, “Everyone has their own talent. Whether it’s a sport you are good at, or if you are good at dance, or if you’re a great writer, even if you’re just a good person. That’s one of the best things you can be good at.”