Sarah Grace Wielgos Memorial Scholarship

FOR THE 26-27 ACADEMIC YEAR

This endowed scholarship will be awarded to nursing major credited as a junior or senior who demonstrates financial need.
Student must demonstrate commitment to poor and under served through volunteer work. Preference will be given to
students who have a connection to Be the Match/Relay for Life, & interested in oncology.

Sarah Grace Wielgos Memorial Scholarship
The Sarah Grace Wielgos Memorial Scholarship was created to honor the lasting legacy and bright
light of SLU nursing major Sarah Wielgos. One of five children, Sarah always found a way to balance
her sense of joy and fun with her commitment to serving others in her local community and in her
planned career as a nurse. She had a particular love for her volunteer work during high school at an
area medical clinic that served the poor, and she polished her Spanish language skills to better
communicate with the clients there. During her freshman year at SLU, Sarah became involved in SLU
Relay for Life, SLU campus ministry, Greek life through Kappa Delta sorority, and Oriflamme, while
working at campus jobs as well. Three weeks into her sophomore year, Sarah was suddenly diagnosed
with a rare and aggressive form of AML leukemia. Sarah returned home to the Chicago area and
immediately began in-patient treatment, enduring many rounds of chemotherapy and radiation to
prepare for a bone marrow transplant. During this time, she was blessed with tremendous support from
her fellow Billikins, with calls, notes, and videos from SLU friends, professors, and administrators. As
she prepared for a bone marrow transplant, Sarah got to know a fellow patient who spoke only Spanish;
when Sarah later learned that no bone marrow donor was ever found for this friend, who passed away,
Sarah told us that, after treatment, she would make it her life’s mission to promote the Be the Match
bone marrow registry to generate donors for underrepresented groups. After battling her way through
transplant, with cells donated from her sister, Mary, Sarah devoted many hours to grueling physical
therapy with one, singular goal: to regain her strength and return to her beloved SLU, using her
experiences to focus on oncology nursing. Her return to campus was truly a moment of triumph over
long odds. That spring, Sarah helped establish the Be the Match group on campus, personally reaching
out to many student organizations to increase the donor rolls for cancer patients needing transplant.
She was also a volunteer and guest speaker at SLU Relay for Life View Sarah’s speech here. Three weeks
before finals, however, Sarah received the devastating news that the leukemia was back. Once again,
she had to leave SLU and return home for even more aggressive cancer treatment. Despite the doctors’
best efforts and Sarah’s boundless courage and optimism, Sarah passed away on January 30, 2015.
Two buses brought SLU students to her funeral, despite a snowstorm, and her friends later held a
candlelight vigil on campus in her memory. The following spring, Kappa Delta and SLU Be the Match
hosted a bone marrow donor registry event in Sarah’s honor.

This scholarship is intended to celebrate the impact that Sarah had on her community, and on the SLU
campus in many ways. We now know of four bone marrow donor matches that were made directly
because of Sarah’s efforts, bringing hope and new life to strangers. Even during her darkest days with
cancer, Sarah found a way to shine with positivity and express her deep faith in God’s Mystery. By
providing financial support for a SLU nursing student each year, we hope to honor Sarah’s
determination to making the world a better place. We hold to the promise that Sarah cherished: “And
we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).