OUR FOUNDER

Her Legacy

Nicole Joy Rius Ledina was born on July 13, 1997 in Olongapo City, Philippines to Roger and Jocelyn Ledina. When Nicole was 1 year of age, Roger brought his young family back to the United States to his home town of San Diego, CA. She spent her early years living for short periods of time accompanying Roger and the family to the cities where his consulting work would take him, such as the cities of San Diego, Irvine, and Foster City, CA. In 2005, the family finally settled permanently in Irvine, CA where Nicole grew up and lived until her passing on June 23, 2017.

Nicole was a young 19 year old honors student who just completed her second year at Irvine Valley College (IVC). Nicole succumbed to complications from a rare auto-immune condition that she bravely battled for about a year. Nicole developed a strong belief in the healing power of music through Music Therapy volunteerism, internships, and organizations she founded in high school and college.

She was a double major in Music and Psychology at IVC, and recently was accepted to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston as a transfer student. She was selected and was preparing to participate in Berklee College’s First Year Abroad program this fall (2017) in Valencia, Spain. “I hope to use the knowledge that I will obtain through higher education and first-hand experience in the industry to enhance the existing and create some new music therapy treatments, as well as advance the current research in the fields of psychology, cognitive science, and music,” said Nicole.

Becoming a music therapist was always Nicole’s dream. She said, “I am consistently amazed at how music provides real comfort, hope, and healing for the people and their families as they go through a difficult time in their lives. I believe it is undeniable that certain music interventions have positive effects on people.”

Nicole was fueling her passion by leading members of the “Music To Heal” club–which she founded at IVC–for the purpose of providing music performances and lifting up the spirits of those in local healthcare facilities and by also being a member of Psi Beta, the National Honor Society in Psychology. It was this intersection between Music and Psychology/Neural/Cognitive Sciences that really drove her passion and learning. Nicole interned in the music and brain research lab at UC San Diego, attended music research conferences organized by the UC Music Experience Research Community Initiative (UC MERCI), International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC), participating in the 1st Annual California Association for Music Therapy (CAAMT) Southern California Networking Event, and other research and interviews with UC Irvine, and USC.

Nicole presented her own research study titled “Drumming to a New Beat: The Effect of Neurological Music Therapy Treatment on People with Dementia” at the annual IVC/SC Student Research Symposium, the Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC) Research Conference, and the Western Psychological Association (WPA) Convention. The study that Nicole presented was based on clinical music therapy work done at Rainbow Bridge Music Studio where she was a music therapy volunteer.

At IVC, Nicole was also a member of the Master Chorale, Service Committee Leader for the Honors Program Student Council, and the Dean’s List.

Nicole attended Woodbridge High School (WHS) in Irvine, CA and was an Advanced Choir Member for both the Bel Canto and Entertainers Show Choirs, Member of the Cross Country and Track Teams where she was presented the Honored Warriors Award for Demonstrating Empathy, Co-Founder of the WHS Music to Heal Club, Class Council Member, Interclub Ambassador, member of the Food Bank Lovers Club, and was a Musician for the Youth Music Guild. Nicole also attended Lakeside Middle School and Oak Creek Elementary School where she was a member of the Choir/Honors Choir and was involved in student government and leadership.

While attending school, Nicole worked part-time at Atria Woodbridge Senior Living where she was a Receptionist, Waitress, and Volunteer Music performer, Juice/Coffee Barista at Whole Foods Market and Love of Juice, Social Media Coordinator for Rainbow Bridge Music Studio, and a Tour Guide for Tanaka Farms. She was also active in ministry at St. John Neumann Catholic Church where she sang in the Parish Choir and Band, and was a Confirmation Youth Group Leader, Lector, and volunteer for parish events.

Despite her young age, Nicole possessed wisdom beyond her years. She believed and lived her life knowing that the secret of living a life of “success” and happiness came down to very simple and basic principles of faith, love, passion, courage, connection, service to others, everyone matters, and do the right thing. Our family knew Nicole was special because she had this big heart, light, and positivity ever since she was a little girl and she exhibited this with everyone she encountered. What surprised us was the sheer number of people that Nicole touched and inspired, and how broad, meaningful, and significant these interactions were to others. We realized that during Nicole’s short life, she was weaving an ever growing and larger net with each meaningful connection and purposeful interaction she made. The result was a net larger than most of us could imagine and achieve in our lifetime. Nicole cast this vast net over anyone who was in her interconnected community. Many of us go through life in the pursuit of happiness and “success” and never find it in our lifetime. It appears that in Nicole’s young 19 years of life, she “cracked the code”, created a “blueprint”, or at the very least provided us with inspiration in ways we can make that pursuit more effective and efficient.

Nicole posted various quotes and words of inspiration on her bedroom wall–something we just noticed when we returned from the hospital after her passing. One in particular resonated with us during this difficult time and it reads:

What’s the Most Important Day?

Today. Because it is the only one that exists. If we can believe that, you can be present. When you are present, you are not stressed. You have all the time you need, so long as you are not straining towards yesterday while reaching for tomorrow.

This encapsulates who Nicole was and was evident in her daily routine and interactions.

Nicole had a strong faith and maintained great courage through adversity. She touched us in the most simple yet profound manner. She made us feel that we mattered and helped us bridge conflicts. Her big heart was infectious and her big smile lit up the room. Nicole’s actions were always in the service of others; never for personal gain. Her optimism and positive attitude moved mountains. In her passing, Nicole left a remarkable legacy through the example she set. She forced us to reassess our values, our priorities, what is most important, and what truly matters in life. Nicole left these and other “seeds” in all of us. We honor Nicole’s memory and her legacy by how we personally ensure these “seeds” are nurtured, so they continue to grow and spread to others and future generations.