Jessica Girard, a nursing student who died May 15, was involved in all nursing activities, says professor Debbie Dayus.

“I knew her as a student in my classes, she was president two years running of the Nursing Society, we went together to the Ontario Universities Fair,” Dayus says. “She loved her program and was passionate and dedicated to the nursing profession.”

After Girard was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, classmates and friends organized a series of events in support of her family, who incurred travel expenses during her treatment.

“The faculty and students have all been wearing the blue bracelets sold by her friends on behalf of Jess,” says Dayus. “Her family and fellow classmates are in our thoughts and our hearts.”

She says this year’s graduating class, the cohort with whom Girard entered nursing, plans to commemorate her at its pinning ceremony in June. Funeral services are Tuesday, May 20; find details in her obituary online. Campus flags will be lowered in her memory on Wednesday, May 21.