‘Maddy was my first real friend’ : Scholarship fund memorializes student

[Courtesy of Jayden Sechrengost] Duquesne alumni (left to right) Lizzie Sklodowski, Madeline Spatafore, Jayden Sechrengost and Paige Warhola, who became best friends their sophmore year.

Kaitlyn Hughes | editor-in-chief

Madeline Spatafore wasn’t just a good student at Duquesne University, she was a good friend, according to Jayden Sechrengost.

“If you think of a good person, that was Maddy,” said Sechrengost, who was friends with Spatafore since their sophomore year at Duquesne.

Spatafore graduated summa cum laude from the university with a bachelor’s degree in 2023 and a master’s in physician assistant studies in 2024 before she went on to be a neurovascular critical care physician assistant at UPMC Presbyterian.

Spatafore was shot and killed in April by Ryan Hosso, 26, who was her husband. Hosso then took his own life.

Spatafore was 25.

Now, her parents, John and Mishelle, started the Madeline Spatafore Memorial Fund as an endowed scholarship to support students in the John G. Rangos School of Health Sciences physician assistant studies program.

The family wants to build the endowment to at least $500,000, according to Duquesne’s website. This would provide $20,000 in financial aid to one student each academic year.

“Her life and achievements serve as inspiration to students who follow in her footsteps, and her legacy will endure forever through this new fund bearing her name,” the website read.

‘She’s like the sun’

Spatafore was the glue of her, Sechrengost, Lizzie Sklodowski and Paige Warhola’s friendship. The quad met sophomore year through their involvement in Duquesne’s chapter of Delta Zeta Sorority, and they were inseparable ever since.

“Maddy was my first real friend,” Sechrengost said. Warhola added that she was the most genuine friend they had all experienced. Spatafore was always the first person Sklodowski would text when something happened.

After a night shift, Spatafore would often spend the night at Sklodowski’s place. They would joke about how she should just move in.

When going somewhere, Spatafore was always considerate of the people around her, Warhola said. If the group was going out to eat, she was always considering whether or not Warhola could eat there because she’s dairy free — even if it was Spatafore’s birthday dinner.

But this is not her only selfless quality.

“She was more excited than you were for your accomplishments,” Sklodowski said.

One time, Spatafore was having a party, but Warhola had just passed the NCLEX, a standardized exam to become a licensed nurse. She made it a dual celebration with congratulation cookies and a bottle of champagne for Warhola.

[Courtesy of Jayden Sechrengost] Madeline Spatafore in 2023. She was a student in the physician assistant studies program at Duquesne.

Spatafore was there for her friends any hour of the day, Sechrengost said. She remembered a time when she needed to talk something out, so she decided to knock on Spatafore’s door at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, and she answered.

The four friends eventually got matching tattoos — a heart that each of them drew put into the shape of a four leaf clover. They fantasized about all buying a house in the same cul-de-sac one day.

Spatafore’s kindness extended out of the core four’s friendship.

She would host Galentine’s Day, Friendsgiving and Christmas get togethers. Sechrengost, Sklodowski and Warhola eventually became close with Spatafore’s other friend groups and family.

“She attracted the best people,” Sklodowski said.

“She’s like the sun, everyone orbits around her,” Sechrengost said.

“Maddy never burned a bridge with anyone. She was nice to every single person,” Warhola said. “I never met anyone like her.”

Sechrengost remembered hundreds of people showing up to Spatafore’s celebration of life, including the family of one of her patients from UPMC Presbyterian.

“She was so wonderful as a care provider,” Sechrengost said.

The group remembered how whenever they were hanging out, Spatafore would call to check on her patients, even if she wasn’t on the clock.

While studying to be a physician assistant, Spatafore made school her number one priority, Warhola said. And when she was at Duquesne, she was no stranger to extra curricular activities.

Spatafore was a Robert A. Becker scholar, a member of the Honors College, a member of the Student Association of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the physician assistant representative for Pi Kappa Epsilon, the academic chair for Delta Zeta and a member of the Lambda Sigma Sophomore Honor Society.

Outside of the classroom and hospital, Spatafore traveled, ran a half marathon and thrifted, always finding the best clothes from Goodwill, the group joked.

Spatafore’s only flaw was that she was clumsy, always spilling drinks or falling, Warhola said.

“I’ve truly never met anyone that could have so many positive traits. Any positive thing you can say about anyone, Maddy was all of that,” Warhola said. “I want people to know how good of a person she was.”

Spatafore is survived by her parents and sisters, Megan and Sophia.

To help support the endowment fund in her name, visit advancement.duq.edu.

Kaitlyn Hughes can be reached at hughesk10@duq.edu