'She lost confidence': Parents of Penn track star, 19, who jumped to her death from a parking garage, begged her not to go back to school when she revealed she was unhappy over Christmas

Madison Holleran took her life in Philadelphia city center on Friday night

Her death has shocked the UPenn community, where she was a member of the track and field team, and her hometown in New Jersey

Her father said she was struggling with school work and had shared her suicidal thoughts with her family and was seeing a psychiatrist

She left a suicide note and gifts to her family on the roof before jumping



The parents of a popular track star at the University of Pennsylvania who committed suicide on Friday, begged her not to go back to school when she revealed she was unhappy over Christmas.



The death of 19-year-old freshman Madison Holleran has rocked UPenn community and sent shockwaves through her hometown of Allendale, New Jersey.

And the tragedy has come even more into focus as her devastated family and friends have revealed her sadness stemmed from the strains the student found herself under since going to college.



Her father James Holleran told the New York Post the student was struggling with her school workload while a family friend revealed her supportive parents told her she could stay home or transfer at Christmas.



But sadly the determined teen insisted on going back.



Holleran posted an image of a sunset over Rittenhouse Square to her Instagram account around 6pm on Friday night - just an hour before police say she jumped to her death from a city center building.



She was pronounced dead at the scene at 7.17pm, the New Jersey Record reported. No one else was injured.



Loss: Madison Holleran, a track and field star at UPenn, has jumped to her death. Her father James, right, said she had taken her life because she was overwhelmed by the workload at her new school



Final moments: She posted this image of Rittenhouse Square to Instagram an hour before her death

Her father told the New York Post that she killed herself because she was overwhelmed with schoolwork at UPenn - changing her from the happy student she had been throughout high school.

'There was a lot more pressure in the classroom at Penn,' James Holleran tearfully told the Post. 'She wasn't normal happy Madison. Now she had worries and stress.'

Mr Holleran said that she had told her parents in December that she was feeling suicidal and was seeing a therapist.

'We knew she needed help,' he said. 'She knew she needed help. She had lost confidence in academics and she also lost confidence in her track abilities.'

On the day that she jumped to her death, her father texted her that morning encouraging her to see a therapist for some anti-depressants, and she said she would.

But just hours later, she took her life. She left her parents a note and gifts for her family on top of the parking garage before she jumped. Her family would not detail the contents of the note.

Distraught: Madison, who was one of five children, poses at a Penn meet with her mother Stacy Beautiful: Hundreds of friends have shared their condolences on Madison's social networking pages

Popular: Madison, pictured left with a friend just months ago at Halloween, was remembered as 'bright and well-liked' by university staff Mr Holleran said that he did not blame the school for his daughter's suicide but that he wanted to warn other parents.

Family friend Bob Weckworth said the high-achiever ultimately couldn't cope with the expectations she'd set herself. 'People talked to her within hours of her act of suicide and there were no red flags, warning signs, nothing,' he told the Daily News.

“This kid didn’t have a boyfriend. There were no drug issues. There were no mental health issues in her background. It was just the last two, three weeks where they saw a change in her,' said Weckworth. 'Something snapped.'

'She got a 3.5 her first semester, and I think just the high expectations that she put on herself was that that’s just not acceptable. 'She was not happy at Penn, but the parents had told her then, ‘Don’t go back. We’ll transfer. We’ll look at other schools. There’s no reason to go back, it’s OK,’' he said.

Madison's funeral will be held today and her family have asked well-wishers to donate to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in lieu of flowers.

Holleran was a member of the university's varsity track and field team at UPenn. Her teammates were given the option of whether or not they wished to compete in Saturday's meet. The school also canceled formal recruitment for sororities, in which Holleran was set to take part.

'The entire Penn community is deeply saddened by the death of Madison Holleran,' Penn president Amy Gutmann said in the statement. 'She was bright and well-liked with an incredible future ahead of her. There are simply no words that can properly convey the sense of heartache that we all feel at such a tragic loss.' 'Our thoughts and prayers are with [Holleran's] family and friends,' said Steve Dolan, Penn's director of track and field, in a statement to the Daily Pennsylvanian.



Promising: The athlete had been one of the most promising track stars to come out of her New Jersey county



Missed: The UPenn community was shaken by the death of Holleran, right, on Friday evening

'This is a challenging time for everyone involved with the program, but we will support each other in the weeks to come and help her teammates and friends find their own ways to honor her memory.'

Holleran, who was majoring in philosophy, politics and economics, had been a standout track and soccer athlete in her high school.

She originally planned to play soccer at Lehigh University before switching her mind, and choosing to run at Penn.



She had been named to the New Jersey Star-Ledger's all-state girls track team last year, while the Record named her its Spring Athlete of the Season and Girls Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2013, the Star Ledger reported.

Northern Highlands Girls Varsity Soccer, for which Holleran had played, tweeted: 'RIP Madison. You are our beloved NHGS sister forever and always. You have and always will be such a special person. We love you.'

A funeral for Holleran, who is one of five children, is expected to be held on Tuesday.



Tragic: She fell to her death on this Philadelphia city center street, but there has been no indication why

The tragedy is the third undergraduate death at UPenn since the start of winter break, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported.

Senior Kevin Zhao died while traveling with his family in China over the break while junior Pulkit Singh died last Sunday in his off-campus house.



For confidential support in the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org.

