About three dozen Georgetown students and faculty took part in the Walk for Lydia yesterday evening to honor the life of Lydia Ngonyi, an NHS senior who died of cancer this summer.

Several thousand people attended the walk at the Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington, D.C. The event was part of Light the Night, a nationwide program sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to raise awareness of blood cancers.

Ngonyi, 21, was a junior pre-med student when she was diagnosed with lymphoma in October 2004. Ngonyi died in July after a 10-month battle with her illness.

Erika Rogan (NHS ’06), vice chair of the NHS Academic Council, said the walk would have made Ngonyi “absolutely ecstatic, especially with such a big turn out.”

Kathryn Chiu (SFS ’06), Ngonyi’s former roommate and friend, agreed.

“If she were here, I think she would be so proud of all the people taking part in the walk, just because not only does it work toward raising money for a good cause, but because it helps bring people together and shows unity for a problem that will persist for a long time if we don’t do anything about it,” Chiu said.

Most walkers held red, lighted balloons during the event, while cancer survivors in attendance held white balloons. A large arch of red and white balloons garnished the finish line.

Ngonyi’s sister, Mueni Muthui, and her two-year old nephew, Nathan, drove from Baltimore to participate in the walk with the Georgetown group. Ngonyi was an enthusiastic volunteer in the cancer unit at the Georgetown University Hospital, Muthui said.

“Lydia would have done this walk herself,” Muthui said.

Ngonyi’s friends described her as enthusiastic about life and said she kept busy despite her rigorous studies by volunteering her time for others.

“She really wanted to be a doctor, so badly,” Rogan said.

“She cared passionately about healing people . which to me, was always so amazing because I remember from day one that she herself had reoccurring medical problems,” Chiu said. “She was passionate about AIDS awareness and attended conferences at Georgetown regarding AIDS.”

Ngonyi sang as part of a group for patients in the bone marrow transplant unit of Georgetown Hospital last fall prior to her own diagnosis. She also spent time as a student-trainer for Georgetown’s football team.

“She definitely felt the civic duty,” Maura Gregory, Ngonyi’s dean during her enrollment in the NHS, said.

Nicole Girard (NHS ’06), Ngonyi’s friend and housemate during their sophomore and junior years, remembered her as a loving friend, noting that she “always managed to find time to talk to a family member or friend.”

“I don’t think anything really held her back, ever,” Girard said.