A Legacy of Hope: Remembering Caroline Kyle '21

This weekend, the Mount's Youth Second Varsity 8+ brought home a USRowing Youth National Championship — the program's first national title in 20 years. Every Mountie who has ever pulled an oar on the Schuylkill is part of that moment. And for one Mount family, it carries something deeper.

The Mount runs deep

The Mount runs deep in the Kyle family — from Rob Kyle's mother, Jody, in the Class of 1959, to his aunt, Sister Mary Francis Kyle, SSJ, to multiple generations of Kyle women who have walked these halls. So when Caroline and her sister Grace were growing up, there was never any question where they wanted to go.

"Caroline only wanted to go to the Mount from a very young age," Beth Kyle recalls. "So did Grace. They wanted to carry on the family legacy."

Caroline, who had learning challenges, worked harder than anyone. "She was the hardest working student and overcame so much," Beth says. "The learning support staff and all the teachers at the Mount quietly helped her along through every challenge. She graduated with a 3.4 GPA taking AP classes — all A's and B's. The Mount pushed her to shine."

Home on the water

Caroline found her home on the water. She earned three varsity letters and rowed in the first boat, and in 2019 her Lightweight 8 captured a Stotesbury Cup championship. But more than the medals and the races, crew gave Caroline a family.

"She was a cheerleader for her teammates," Beth remembers. "She'd give her left arm for her friends. She was always giving everything away to help someone. Mount crew allowed her to become the person she was. It was like a family. The water was where she felt most at home — it allowed her light to shine."

A sudden loss, and a community that showed up

On July 9, 2022, Caroline died suddenly in her sleep at home. She was 19 years old, a rising sophomore in college. The cause was Long QT Syndrome, an undetected heart condition that can cause sudden cardiac arrest.

"She was always an athlete growing up. She was always active. She was a happy, healthy teenage girl," says her younger sister, Grace '24. "We had no clue."

The Mount community rallied around the Kyle family in ways Beth will never forget. "The day of the funeral, Sister Charlene showed up big for our family. I've never felt so much support," Beth says. "They were right by our side. The honor guard that stood by her — it was just amazing."

The support didn't end with the funeral. For Grace, then a junior devastated by the loss of her sister, the school became a lifeline. "Amy DiGiovanni, our Director of School Counseling, saved my daughter that year," Beth says. "They embraced her and worked quietly behind the scenes to support her and push her along."

"I want a boat."

At Caroline's funeral, surrounded by an extraordinary outpouring of love, Beth knew what she wanted to do. "I said, 'I want a boat.'"

What happened next exceeded anything the family could have imagined. Students, families, alumnae, faculty, and friends came together in an overwhelming show of love, and the donations ultimately surpassed $100,000. "The amount of people she touched in her life was astonishing," Beth says. "We had enough money to buy the boat and start an endowment for the crew program."

The Caroline Kyle Crew Endowment now supports Mount crew in perpetuity, ensuring her legacy pulls for every future boat that launches on the Schuylkill.

Grace has carried that legacy forward through advocacy, spearheading Simon's Heart screenings at the Mount to offer free heart testing to young people. She is now studying genetics and public health to become a genetic counselor, determined to help save lives.

"A spiritual advisor told us that God gives you challenges and we don't know why, and you can be bitter or you can be better," Beth recalls. "We held hands and we chose to be better in this life. This is how we're being better. Every day."

One of Caroline's last drawings showed a beach scene with the words: "Be Happy. Love, Caroline #YOLO."

"Be happy and be better. That's Caroline's legacy," Beth says.

Be part of the story

Caroline's story is the Mount at its truest — a community that shows up for one another in triumph and in loss, and that turns love into something lasting.

You can be part of that story. Before our fiscal year closes on June 30, your gift to the Mount Mission Fund strengthens every corner of Mount life — in the classroom, on the water, and everywhere a Mountie's light is waiting to shine.

Give to the Mount Mission Fund → msjacad.org/make-a-gift

Inspired to create a lasting legacy of your own? Contact Shannon Thompson Connolly '86, Chief Advancement Officer, at 215-233-3177 or sconnolly@msjacad.org.