Stephanie Jean-Charles, a second-year Batten student and a 2009 University graduate, died last week in the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti.
Jean-Charles was home with family members in Port-au-Prince when she suffered a fatal head injury as a result of the earthquake, a University press release stated. She was sleeping when a wall collapsed onto her bed, said cousin Genevieve Rene.
The rest of her family, including her parents and sister, survived the disaster.
Jean-Charles would have returned Saturday to the United States, said Genevieve Rene's sister, Getteline.
"She was supposed to come back tomorrow," Getteline Rene said Friday. "But she's not."
Jean-Charles received a bachelor's degree in French and foreign affairs in May and was dedicated to her academic endeavors and extracurricular activities.
"She's touched so many lives," Genevieve Rene said.
Those who knew Jean-Charles at the University remembered her as warm and friendly. Batten Dean Harry Harding e-mailed students Thursday about her death.
"Stephanie was a young woman with many dreams," Harding wrote. "Like the challenges she faced and overcame, they came in sizes both large and small. Her main aspiration was to take the knowledge and skills she learned at the Batten School to try to improve the educational system in Haiti and to keep children in school."
Jill Miller, Batten director of career services, recalled Jean-Charles' persistently positive outlook about life.
"She was well-loved here," Miller said. "She was always smiling, always kind and happy."
Third-year College student Amanda Lucht also remembered Jean-Charles' openness and energy.
"She's one of the most amazing and happy people I've ever known," said Lucht, who lived with Jean-Charles in the French House.
"She was the right one to speak to if you were having a bad day," Getteline Rene said.
Jean-Charles served as a role model at the University as a peer adviser for the Office of African-American Affairs, former OAAA associate dean Sylvia Terry said.
Terry shared one of the comments of Jean-Charles' advisees: "Though the adjustment to life at U.Va. has not always been a smooth one, without Stephanie, the slight bumps that I experienced could have very well been mountains instead of molehills," the student wrote.
In addition to tutoring French and advising individual students, Jean-Charles chaired the orientation committee's peer advising program.
"She was really dedicated and passionate about the peer advising program," said fourth-year Nursing student Christina Gray, a fellow peer adviser.
Terry said she had been in e-mail contact with Jean-Charles last week about a recommendation letter for a future research opportunity.
"She was really getting experiences and gearing up for things," said Terry, who met Jean-Charles only two weeks into Jean-Charles' first semester at the University.
Jean-Charles participated in two internships in Haiti during the past two summers, including one with the Education Development Center, Terry said. Those opportunities solidified her drive to improve education in rural areas of her native country.
"She was driven to do things because she wanted to make differences," Terry said.
Miller echoed Terry's sentiment about Jean-Charles' devotion to service.
"Stephanie was utterly public service-minded," she said.
Apart from being a dedicated student and friend, Jean-Charles' cousins said she also loved to have fun. Jean-Charles loved watching movie trailers and the Canadian television show, "Degrassi," wearing bright colors and playing board games.
During a Batten School leadership retreat last fall, Miller said, Jean-Charles overcame her fear of whitewater rafting. At the same retreat, second-year Batten student Sam Dreiman recalled a personal motto that Jean-Charles shared - a French phrase that translates as, "Live where you will, die where you must."
"It gives a nice insight into who she was," Dreiman said.
Harding said the Batten School will host an event to honor Jean-Charles next week.
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