(Radio Iowa) – A private Catholic liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids has confirmed one of its students has died after contracting Covid. Mount Mercy University held a vigil on campus last (Monday) night in honor of 21-year-old student Ashley Hudson. University president Todd Olson sent a message to students notifying them Hudson died Monday morning from complications associated with Covid-19. Social media posts indicate Hudson had been hospitalized and fighting the disease for weeks. Mount Mercy’s president described Hudson as an aspiring kindergarten teacher. Grief counseling services for Mount Mercy students and staff are being made available free of charge.

More than 17-hundred students are enrolled at Mount Mercy according to the university’s website. The Sisters of Mercy founded the school in 1928 and it was originally a two-year college for women.