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78 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 29, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Archbishop Molloy remembers Karina Vetrano with memorial run
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com
@A_GiudiceReport
Although Karina Vetrano, the Howard
Beach jogger who was murdered last
summer, may be gone, her memorial lives
on at her alma mater, Archbishop Molloy
High School.
Th e Briarwood high school honored
Vetrano’s memory during an overnight
relay walk/run event at the campus on
Friday, June 23, and into the morning
of June 24. Th ere was a morning Mass,
brunch, and the dedication of a memorial
bench to honor the late Vetrano.
To kick off the rally, at 8 p.m. on Friday
night, Phil Vetrano, Karina’s father and
a graduate of Molloy Class of 1974, took
the fi rst lap of the walk/run by himself
while carrying his daughter’s running
shoes. He then handed them off to
his son, and all of the other participants
joined in.
Over 300 friends and family members,
Molloy students and teachers, alumni,
and members of the Howard Beach
community attended the walk/run, Mass,
brunch and memorial dedication ceremony
for Vetrano—who was a member
of Molloy’s fi rst co-ed graduating class
in 2004. As of June 24, over $60,000 was
raised for Th e Karina Vetrano Memorial
Scholarship, and continues to grow each
day.
Th e scholarship, once fully realized,
will benefi t future young women entering
Molloy.
Vetrano loved butterfl ies, and that was
a theme carried throughout much of the
imagery hung around the school and
during the event. Th e Vetrano family
even released butterfl ies in a tribute to
Karina during the bench dedication ceremony.
Vetrano also identifi ed with the number
11, which was recognized during the
event as her classmates from the Class of
2004 started their portion of the walk/
run at 11 p.m. on Friday night, and
the brunch on Saturday morning began
exactly at 11:11 a.m.
Photos courtesy of Joseph Sommo
Friends, family, former schoolmates and members of the Howard Beach community ran in honor of
Karina Vetrano.