Holding candles and wearing green ribbons, over 200 UT students and staff gathered at the Main Mall on Tuesday at 8 p.m. for a candlelight vigil organized by the University’s Panhellenic Council to honor the over 100 victims of the Kerr County flooding.
The green ribbons, referencing Camp Mystic’s colors, honor the 27 children and counselors killed by the flood at Camp Mystic, a private Christian girls’ summer camp in Kerr County, on July 4.
At the time of publication, at least 173 people are still missing across Central Texas, with at least 161 of those in Kerr County alone. The death toll from the floods currently stands at 119 people, 36 of whom were children from Kerr County.
Among those affected by the flood are two incoming UT students: Chloe Childress, who was killed by the floods, and Katherine Ferruzzo, who is still missing. Both Childress and Ferruzzo were camp counselors at Camp Mystic.
“As of today, our daughter, Katherine Ferruzzo, a counselor in the Bubble Inn cabin at Camp Mystic, remains unaccounted for,” Ferruzzo’s family said in a statement on Monday. “We ask for your ongoing prayers as responders search for her and the many other victims of last week’s devastating floods in Central Texas. Katherine has a fierce and loving spirit, and we have no doubt she did all she could to save the lives of the girls in her cabin.”
Childress’s family confirmed her death in a statement on Monday morning.
“Chloe Childress lived a beautiful life that saturated those around her with contagious joy, unending grace and abiding faith,” the statement said. “Returning as a counselor to the place she loved so dearly, Chloe was looking forward to dedicating her summer days to loving and mentoring young girls at Camp Mystic.”
The vigil had five speakers, some shared personal connections and memories from their time attending Camp Mystic, others discussed their experience being from Kerr County, or led a prayer. Around 8:30 p.m., rows of attendees bowed their heads in prayer or reflection as a solemn silence spread across the Main Mall, honoring those impacted by the flooding, such as Childress and Ferruzzo.
Elizabeth Cox, a communication leadership senior and Panhellenic Council president, said the intention for the event was to create a space for the community to come together.
“It’s my hope, and clearly a reality,” Cox said, looking out to the forming crowd at 8 p.m., “(that) if people provide an avenue by which we can be together and honor lives of people that gave their lives for others (and) hope for those that are still missing, people come.”
Brooklyn Hawthorne, a journalism and sports media sophomore, attended Camp Mystic for 10 years and said those connected to Camp Mystic form a strong, tight-knit community.
“Every Mystic girl leaves a piece of her heart inside those green gates,” Hawthorne said during the vigil. “A little piece that broke when hearing about the tragedies of July 4.”
Originally a resident of Kerr County, finance senior Seth Hendricks spoke at the candle vigil about how the flood has hit his community hard but has persevered and stayed resilient through “actionable love,” like churches and businesses offering shelter, food and a place to foster community.
Hendricks asked attendees to help his hometown with rebuilding and recovery in any way they can, such as through donations or volunteering. Monetary donations may be made to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund through the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. The Salvation Army Kerrville also coordinates flood relief volunteers and donations of supplies.
“I know that this weekend, all of us here witnessed some of the very darkest things that this world can throw at a community and throw at anyone that lives in it,” Hendricks said.
Emma Grace Alvey, Zeta Tau Alpha president, helped organize the candle vigil. She said it started with her trying to host the vigil at her sorority’s house, but kept getting more responses from other sororities and organizations that wanted to get involved. Ultimately, the vigil was moved to the Main Mall.
“Everyone is just looking for a way to kind of just show that they care and show that they support,” Alvey said. “I’m really happy we get to kind of create that space together as UT students and members of this community.”
The event offered resources from the University’s Counseling and Mental Health Center and Student Outreach and Support to assist any attendees in need.
Near the end of the vigil, the song “Amazing Grace” was played from speakers at the vigil. It is typically tradition to sing this song at Camp Mystic, but that night it was played instead at the Main Mall as the crowd grieved and reflected on the lives lost in the flood.
“My hope for people in Kerr County and the surrounding areas that are affected is that they can look at an event like this and know we are praying for you,” Cox said. “We’re thinking of you. We care enough to organize an entire University event and have the University behind it. My hope is that people know that they’re not alone, and the community extends beyond the area in which we’re physically present.”
