The Madison Holleran Foundation exists to prevent suicides and to assist those in a crisis situation.
Her name was Madison Holleran. Born in Ridgewood New Jersey in 1994, Madison loved sports. She excelled in multiple sports, too, including tennis, soccer, and track.
Madison (center) (photo, Northjersey.com)
In soccer, she helped lead her high school team to consecutive New Jersey State championships. College recruiters took notice and Madison gave her verbal commitment to play soccer at Lehigh University.
While soccer was Madison’s favorite sport, she also loved to run. She was good at it, too, winning a state high school championship in the 800m during her junior year. Colleges then came calling in track, including prestigious Ivy League schools.
The allure of running for an Ivy school swayed her college decision. When all was said and done, Madison signed a letter of intent to run at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Going into college, Madison knew that university life would be challenging. But it was more challenging than she had imagined. Track took up a good share of her time, and she found the competition to be fierce. Madison wasn’t winning as she had done in high school and, as a perfectionist, she felt pressure to succeed.
Madison’s story then took a tragic turn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYpC5m7y5N0
During Christmas Break, Madison’s family knew something wasn’t right. Her father asked, “Madison, you look depressed.” Madison responded, “Dad, I just want to go to sleep.”
Madison was thinking about quitting track but eventually decided against it. In her second semester, she told her parents, friends, and siblings, that she had a plan.
Madison was at the Penn Bookstore on January 17th, 2014 when her dad called. Madison told him that she loved him and that she was buying books. Later, that day, Madison walked to a parking garage with a bag in her hand. The bag held gifts for her family. One gift was a photo of a little girl playing tennis.
She photographed a beautiful building and placed it on her Instagram page, and then climbed nine stories to the top of the structure. She dropped the bag, stepped onto a ledge, and jumped.
Madison story is documented in video form (above) and in Kate Fagan’s book, What Made Maddy Run (Little, Brown, and Company). The Madison Holleran Foundation exists to prevent suicides and to assist those in a crisis situation.
