Kierstyn Roberts was a hard-working student at IU pursuing a degree in Mathematics. She worked tirelessly to excel in her classes and also worked as an RA to help put herself through college. Kierstyn loved being at IU because it was a place that allowed her to learn and fulfill the dreams she had for herself. 

In September 2020, at just 21 years old, Kierstyn found out that she had stage 4 colon cancer. She started intense rounds of chemo with the goal of shrinking the tumors in her colon, liver, and lymph nodes. She was forced to take temporary breaks from school in order to focus on her treatment, but Kierstyn was committed to her studies and did everything she could to continue taking classes. She was eventually able to get her treatments done in Bloomington instead of Indianapolis because it better allowed her to continue her classes. Tragically, the cancer stopped responding to treatment and Kierstyn passed away on November 30, 2021. 

Kierstyn was incredibly close to graduating from IU with her degree in Mathematics. Her mother has been attempting for months to get Kierstyn’s diploma released from IU. She has talked to various administrators and only recently (after 7 months of receiving no clear answers from IU) was told that Kierstyn did not qualify to receive her degree posthumously. According to IU, Kierstyn was just 6 credit hours short of qualifying. 

IU is currently working to determine if they can provide Kierstyn’s family with a certificate of completion or something similar. I wanted to start this petition to show IU how many people are in support of Kierstyn and her family. 

In my time at IU as a student and staff member with a campus ministry, I did not meet another student that was more deserving of a diploma than Kierstyn. She sacrificed so much in order to pursue her dream of graduating from IU. She spent countless hours studying, devoted her free time to caring for her residents as an RA, was involved in multiple student organizations, and even while battling stage 4 colon cancer, continued to prioritize her studies. Kierstyn was the picture of what IU should want their students to be, yet IU is refusing to honor Kierstyn by providing her family with her well-deserved diploma.

Please consider signing this petition to show IU that you believe Kierstyn is deserving of her degree.