Remembering Lacey, MSU group to repaint The Rock
On April 9, the day after Lacey Holsworth died, Danielle Bott painted The Rock on Michigan State University's campus bright white and wrote "MSU ♥s Princess Lacey" and "Love Like Lacey" in big letters.
That night, players and coaches from the MSU men's basketball team joined more than 100 students at a candlelight vigil, signing The Rock and paying their last respects to the eight-year old Spartan super-fan with the ever-present smile.
The tribute for Lacey, who died after a long battle with cancer, lasted 12 days, longer than any other message the campus community could recall, before "Congratulations graduates" and "Be a hero to someone" were painted over top of the make-shift memorial.
"It's not like it was erased," said Heather Holsworth, Lacey's mom, in an interview last fall. "It's still there. It's one layer in that rock tradition now. We have a picture of every note, of every inch, that was on that rock. It is part of MSU tradition – you don't want to change that. I wouldn't expect it to stay that way forever because then it becomes kind of a tombstone and that's just weird. It was an amazing tribute to Lacey."
Connor Sexton wants to make it an annual tradition. He is getting people together to repaint The Rock in Lacey's honor on the anniversary of her death.
"I think it is a great idea to make the signing of the rock a tradition so that people remember Lacey and the impact she had on the school," the MSU senior said. "Too often you see a community gather around someone or something, but forget about it within a few weeks and never hear too much about it again."
Sexton is a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity Philanthropy Team. This isn't the first time that he has volunteered his time in honor of Lacey and her family. Last spring, he set up a four-team charity hockey tournament with three other fraternities on campus that raised $2,500 to help with medical expenses.
"We knew that we would not raise enough to make a significant impact in the family's medical bills," Sexton said. "But we thought it would be a good way to get the Greek community aware of her story and spread awareness."
As others hear about the idea of painting the rock again for Lacey, they are signing up to volunteer as well.
"Lacey is a representation of what Michigan State is about. We all have our own battles, but we have each other's backs through thick and thin," said Andrew Prince, an MSU junior from Grand Haven. "Lacey gives motivation to be strong and live life to the fullest, even when the path isn't easy. She wasn't just a little girl, she's one of us, a Spartan."
The plan is to paint The Rock white on April 7, adding the web address "PrincessLaceysLegacy.com" and "#LoveLikeLacey" in pink and green, in order to spread awareness – and raise donations – for her newly founded Legacy Fund.
The organizers hope that people who were touched by Lacey will stop by and add a message of their own over the following couple of days.
"Lacey was more than a superfan," said Julie Angell, a junior from Grand Rapids who is coordinating the repainting. "She was a reminder to not sweat the small stuff. No matter how our team did, she was just happy to cheer them on. Oftentimes in sports we get caught up in the wins and losses. Lacey reminded me why I love the game — it's because of the people like her. Her smile made me so unbelievably happy."
Kevin Lechner is junior at MSU and a section leader of the Izzone, the student section at MSU basketball games. He's volunteering his time, he said, because Lacey motivated him to live better.
"The Holsworth family came up with the best slogan – Love Like Lacey." Lechner said. "I hope all of us try and do just that every day."
Honoring Lacey
A group of students at Michigan State University plans to repaint The Rock on campus in honor of Lacey Holsworth, the eight-year-old St. Johns girl with cancer who became an inspiration to the MSU men's basketball team before her death last year.
Those interested in helping with the project by guarding The Rock, for instance, or spreading awareness in the community, can contact organizer Connor Sexton at sextonco@msu.edu.
Organizers are encouraging members of the community to add their own messages to Lacey to The Rock starting April 8.