As summer comes to a close, one of the biggest trends of the season, the "Ice Bucket Challenge," continues to go viral across social media outlets.
The goal served to raise awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
According to Facebook, more than 2.5 million "Ice Bucket Challenge" videos have been posted on the social media site, in addition to more than 28 million similar posts.
Elon junior Carrie Hartsfield lost her aunt, Joan Gluck, to ALS in 2003 and recalls her aunt's everyday struggles as she battled the illness.
"It got to the point that she was standing in line and someone cut in front of her, but she couldn't even pick up her feet to move," Hartsfield said.
Several years after Gluck's passing, Hartsfield conducted research on Lou Gehrig's disease as part of a high school project where she learned more about this particular disease.
"I got the jist of it when I was eight, but I really didn't understand the biology behind it and how it was contracted," Hartsfield said. "But now I really understand it."
This summer Hartsfield completed the Ice Bucket Challenge in memory of her aunt and is a strong believer in the message it sends.
"It really affects the people who have ALS and have been affected by it because before this no one knew what ALS was unless they personally had a connection," she said.
Hartsfield has been overwhelmed by the amount of support from her friends at Elon.
"I loved seeing all my friends do it," she said. "And now they all know my aunt had it. Before, there were no circumstances where that conversation would arise."
According to the ALS Association, the Ice Bucket Challenge has raised over $70 million in donations and that number continues to rise.