Losing a loved one is never something easy, it implies a lot of grief and sorrow that affect emotions in a negative manner. Dealing with grief is different for every person, and everyone honors their loved ones differently. Academy of the Holy Names is known for the special bond between classmates and teachers. Classmates are regarded like sisters for life that will always have a place in your heart. When someone you love passes away it can be devastating, especially when it is one of your AHN sisters. On December 24, 2014  the AHN family lost a sister yet God gained another Angel. Senior Sydney Wynne, unfortunately passed away. Since her departure, the AHN family has honored her life in several ways, and recently, a new idea was developed.

The Class of 2016 created a sticker in honor of Sydney. All the proceeds of the sticker  are being used for the senior endowment fund. Three AHN seniors, Alexis Markines, McKenzie Killer and Caroline Lamoutte, played a major  role in organizing and creating the sticker in  honor of  their sister.

Senior McKenzie Miller originally came up with the idea. Miller shared her part in creating the sticker in honor of Wynne. “I came up with the idea of the sticker because I saw the Jesuit sticker on one of the boys cars when I was driving to school but I wanted to put an academy spin on it so I thought making it in honor of Sydney would be great because the funds would go to the endowment that honors her. I was hoping that it would bring us together as a school and a community and people would stop and appreciate the love that we all have for each other when they see the sticker. I love the sticker.  I think it turned out perfect and I think through the sticker and the sisterhood Sydney is with us.”

Alexis Markines created and designed the image for the sticker. Markines knew Sydney for three years and  really got to know her  throughout  her sophomore year of high school. Markines and Wynne had Study Hall, Theology, and History together.  Alexis shared that even though Sydney missed some days of school, Wynne was a hard working, determined girl and capable of anything she set her mind to.

Markines explained her thought process of creating the sticker to honor Sydney and her reaction to the final outcome of the design. “Honestly I created the design out of procrastination! Originally I wasn’t thinking of making a design because I thought it was just going to be the academy logo or something.  I got bored doing homework one day and ended up doodling a design and it turned out pretty cute!  When designing the image for the sticker I didn’t want it to be too abstract or flashy anything because I wanted people to know that it was for Sydney as soon as they saw it. Sydney is  the heart of our class and the Christmas Angel for our whole Academy family. The process of creating the design image took me around 30 minutes or so!  I have almost 4 years of experience doodling on notability.  My overall reaction to the final outcome of the sticker is that I believe it turned out really cute and I am so so happy with it.  So far I have heard lots of positive reactions regarding the sticker!  I’m happy to have gotten the opportunity to share this with my sisters. Through this sticker we are reminded of our Christmas angel and the importance of cherishing our academy family.”  

Along with Markines role in designing the Sticker in honor of Wynne, Caroline Lamoutte, Class of 2016 president explained what she was hoping to accomplish besides “The goal with the stickers is to raise at least $500 that would go to the Senior Endowment Fund.  Because our fund is in honor of Sydney, this year we wanted to further honor her by breaking the endowment record.  So, we’ve been coming up with as many ideas as possible in order to raise that much more money – any little bit counts. I know if any class can do it, it’s the Class of 2016. I have great hope that we will accomplish our goal this year.”

Lamoutte and Wynne were schoolmates for fourteen years and attended Nativity and Academy of the Holy Names together. When interviewing Lamoutte, she shared one of her favorite memories of Sydney Wynne. “My favorite memory of Syd was her endless participation in a program called Tennis for Fun. In seventh grade, she told the class about the program and how it was a chance for mentally challenged adults to have fun and mingle with each other. Essentially, volunteers went out and ran drills for the participants—Syd was one of those volunteers who went every single week to help out, rain or shine. She inspired me and a few others on the tennis team in middle school to go and help out for a few weeks, but no one came close to contributing the amount of hours she did. Even after she was diagnosed with the cancer and the fatigue had kicked in, she still went and volunteered. No force of nature could ever stop that girl. That’s my favorite memory of her.”

The outcome of the sticker in honor of Wynne has been a ginormous success and the overall reactions towards the sticker have been extremely positive. The most common reactions to the sticker have been  “Awww! They’re so cute!!” and “I want one!”. The AHN family loves the sticker and has been thrilled with the outcome of the sticker and has been using the sticker in many cute and creative ways. Acadmey of the Holy Names Principal Sister Ann Regan shared her thoughts of the sticker in honor of Sydney Wynne. “Sydney is an angel and the senior class are angels to remember and honor her.  I know Sydney is proud of her sisters and I know  the  seniors  have learned much about what is really important in life  through Sydney. I expect that is why the seniors will be  making good choices throughout the year.”  Assistant Principal of Academy of the Holy Names, Erin Krukar, informed us of her overall reaction to the sticker.  “I could not be happier with this tribute to Sydney. Seeing these stickers all around the school makes me feel hopeful that her memory will not be forgotten any time soon and that her impact will last after her classmates leave these halls.”

Julie Wynne, Sydney Wynne’s mother shared her thoughts and reaction of the sticker in honor of Sydney.   “When I first saw the sticker I was amazed that the AHN girls remembered Sydney and  were not forgetting her. I also felt so blessed by how supported we are by  the AHN family. When Sydney was sick we could not have gotten through without the love and support of the AHN family. This sticker reminds me how special the AHN girls are and how much we love them.”

The one thing I would like the AHN girls to remember about Sydney is how she was quiet and  always observed others and she didn’t care who you were but she always accepted others and wanted everyone to come together. Sydney always had a cautious positive aide during the good times and bad times. Sydney is our Christmas angel that brought everyone together and will always be in our hearts and will always watch over us.”

The sticker in honor of Wynne is being sold for five dollars and is being sold throughout the AHN campus. If you are interested in purchasing a sticker, email Caroline Lamoutte and she will be sure to give you one you one!