Our Founder, Nicole Joy Ledina was a compassionate, energetic, and driven honors student at Irvine Valley College (IVC) . She believed in using her gifts to serve others and that intentional acts of kindness could have a positive change in the world. For Nicole, her gifts were music and a big heart. With these gifts, she aspired to provide real comfort, hope, and healing to those experiencing adversity and inspired others to do the same.

While at IVC from 2015-2017, Nicole double majored in Music and Psychology. She planned to pursue a career as a music therapist and contribute to the field of research intersecting music, psychology, and cognitive science. In Nicole’s first year at IVC, she founded the Music to Heal Club to provide uplifting musical performances at local healthcare and senior care facilities. Nicole was also a member of the Master Chorale, Service Committee Leader for the Honors Student Council, and Dean’s Honor List. As a Psi Beta member, the National Honor Society in Psychology, she presented her research on “Drumming to a New Beat: The Effect of Neurological Music Therapy Treatment on People with Dementia” at the 2017 Annual IVC/SC Student Research Symposium, the 2017 Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC) Research Conference, and 2017 Western Psychological Association (WPA) Convention. In addition, Nicole had a strong faith and used her gifts in service of others as an active member of the St. John Neumann Catholic Church’s Parish Choir and Band and served as a Confirmation Youth Group Leader, Lector, and volunteer for parish events.

In 2017, Nicole was accepted to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston as a transfer student and was preparing to participate in Berklee College’s First Year Abroad Program in Valencia, Spain. However, on June 23, 2017, she lost her courageous battle with an illness.

The initial Nicole Joy Ledina Endowed Memorial Scholarship at IVC was established by Nicole’s family, friends, classmates, mentors, and teachers to honor her positive spirit and beautiful soul. We hope to honor Nicole’s legacy of giving joy and a commitment to making meaningful and purposeful connections each and every day.

This campaign will grow the endowment to increase award amounts and number of students assisted. It will also establish additional scholarships to expand the impact of our mission and our reach to even more promising scholars.

The Future of the Nicole Joy Ledina Scholarship Fund

While our journey began with the Endowed Memorial Scholarship at Irvine Valley College (IVC), our vision is to expand Nicole’s legacy to other prestigious institutions. By initiating this fund, we aim to establish additional scholarships that support students pursuing excellence in music, psychology, and community service—wherever their dreams may take them.

Learn more about this and other Empathy is the Remedy Foundation programs on our website - https://www.empathyistheremedy.org

Nicole Joy Ledina Memorial Scholarship Fund