The Ryle community is gathering around a student who lost a yearlong battle with lymphoma.

Amanda Rodriquez was diagnosed with B cell lymphoma in July 2007 and died Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Before her diagnosis, Rodriquez was an honors student and a member of the Ryle tennis team.

As news of Rodriquez's passing spread by text message, students at Ryle were quick to make sure her memory lived on, said Jill Blackburn, mother of Rodriquez's best friend Elizabeth.

A bake sale to raise money in honor of Rodriquez has already raised over $3,000, Blackburn said.

The day after she died, hundreds of students wore pink, one of her favorite colors, to school to honor her, said Principal Matt Turner.

"It makes me very, very proud of our students," Turner said.

The week before she died, Turner presented a 2010 diploma to Rodriquez and her family in the hospital.

"It was an honor for me, but it was also one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," Turner said.

Rodriquez transferred to Ryle after her family moved from Texas, and spent a year at the school.

"In that one year, she touched so many kids," Blackburn said.

Funeral services will be held in Fort Worth, Texas.

Moving Rodriquez to Texas will be expensive, and friends are looking for ways to raise money for the family. A walk in her memory is being planned, Blackburn said.

Any ideas for fund raising can be directed to http://www.ryle.boone.k12.ky.us/amanda/index.html.

"She was just a great kid. She believed in Jesus and had no qualms with standing up for that," Blackburn said.