This past Monday, sophomore Katie Oppo passed away after battling with ovarian cancer for many months. Oppo, who was a sister in Hopkins’s Phi Mu sorority, will be missed dearly by her sorority and by the community. Oppo’s family has not yet contacted the school with their wishes for a formal on-campus memorial, but according to Director of Greek Life Robert Turning, Phi Mu is organizing buses to Oppo’s hometown of Manhasset, N.Y. in order to attend her private memorial service on April 15.
“Katie was an outstanding, gifted student but the memory that will endure for those who knew her was her ability to take joy in the moment,” a press release from Oppo’s high school stated.
Oppo has been out of school due to her illness since the beginning of the school year in September 2010. Though Hopkins has not yet been able to contact
Oppo’s parents for an official statement, Turning said that Hopkins Greek Life is much saddened by the loss.
“We’re still in the midst of gathering information, this is a tough time for the family and their first priority is obviously not keeping us up to date,” Turning said.
“It’s very sad. She was someone that by all accounts was going to be a leader in her chapter and on campus.”
The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, people make donations to The Manhasset Women’s Coalition Against Breast Cancer. Checks can be made out to “MWCABC” with Oppo’s name in the memo section and mailed to the Coalition at P.O. Box 1007, Manhasset, NY 11030.
In honor of Oppo, Phi Mu has decided that all proceeds from the upcoming Mr. Phi Mu contest, which will take place this Thursday, will be donated to the American Cancer society. Phi Mu sisters declined to comment.
