Bus Crash Survivor Speaks At Seton Hill U. Commencement
GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- The long hard work has finally ended for Seton Hill University seniors.
More than 280 students received their diplomas Saturday, and they also remembered their late women's lacrosse team coach who was killed in a violent tour bus crash a couple of months ago.
The survivor of a similar crash was the commencement speaker.
In March, Kristina Quigley and her unborn child died in the bus crash along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Cumberland County. The lacrosse team was headed to a match in Millersville, Pa.
A woman who lived through a similar crash reached out to Seton Hill in the aftermath of the crash.
"On that Saturday and days after, I had a heavy heart for a team I had never met and a campus I had never visited," said Haley Scott DeMaria, a motivational speaker.
DeMaria knows all too well about team bus crashes.
She was in one in 1992 with the University of Notre Dame's swim team. She had to relearn how to walk.
DeMaria immediately reached out to Seton Hill when they suffered the tragedy.
"I hope you have felt the love and support from around the country because it's very real and it's very powerful," she said.
For the class of 2013, painful but important lessons in life were learned this year. They are lessons DeMaria knows well.
"Life sometimes can be really tough, but what they have here is a community of faith that's given them a really strong foundation to navigate those challenges," DeMaria added.
RELATED LINKS:
Seton Hill University Cancels Rest Of Lacrosse Season In Aftermath Of Crash (4/5/13)
More Reports on the Seton Hill Bus Crash
More Seton Hill University News
More Westmoreland County News
