Kendall Daigle wanted to make a difference through her work. According to Michelle Daigle, Kendall’s mother, Kendall wanted her suffering with addiction to mean something, so she wrote about her experience in a way that her mother described as raw and unfiltered.
Michelle Daigle believes that through Bloom Fest, Kendall is achieving her goals even after her passing.
“For me to be able to witness as a mom, people reading her work and possibly being helped by reading it, it’s like they have a companion in her, you know, because she was very raw with her writing…” she said. “She did not mince words about what it was like to go through mental illness, depression, or addiction, so it’s kind of like people aren’t alone, and they get some comfort by reading her work… it’s a comfort to me.”
The Daigle family planted the seed of Bloom Fest by making a donation and implementing an endowment fund for Loyola students.
“They have many great events. They do… visiting authors and many other events, like study abroad programs,” Michelle Daigle said.
From there, they planned to commemorate Kendall by putting her picture in the English Lounge, but Michelle Daigle explained that it didn’t “sound like Kendall.” Instead, they decided to work with the design department, who came up with the idea to create the Kendall Collective. After creating the tree that now sits in front of Monroe, the department decided the next year that they wanted to hold a festival.
“After that, things kept growing, and a lot of the other head department heads, who are also extremely creative, all work together, and now this is a collaborative event among all the departments, especially like the design department, the film department, film and music, and, of course, the English department and many of the other departments,” Michelle Daigle said.
Bloom Fest’s creation began because Kendall’s family knew it resembled her ambitions and chose to nourish her memory through an event that represented her artistic disposition. Now, the festival has made an impact on Loyola’s community, especially for students who experience or witness substance abuse.
Ana Beatriz-Paz, a sophomore environmental science major, attended this year’s Bloomfest, which took place March 30. She expressed the importance of this event because of how addiction is still an ongoing issue in college environments.
“Addiction hasn’t just magically disappeared since this happened, and even though she was a student 10 years ago, she still was a part of this community,” Beatriz-Paz said. “She changed a lot of people’s lives, and I think it’s really important to honor that… it really brings awareness to the issue because it could really happen to any of us, especially us college students.”
Not only is it an event that spreads awareness on substance abuse, but Bloom Fest also provides opportunities for Loyola students to showcase their talents, like writing and music, according to Beatriz-Paz.
“[I loved] the community and getting to see how different loyalist students and faculty came together to showcase their talents but also do really cool events and little tablings that get the student body excited and learning about new things,” she said.
