Dozens of students, faculty and administrators gathered in Alice Millar Chapel Wednesday night for a memorial service celebrating the life of Alyssa Weaver, the Weinberg junior who passed away in November.
Weaver, an Art History and Chemistry double major, was studying abroad at Goldsmiths College at the University of London when she took her own life over Thanksgiving break. The memorial service was organized by Chi Omega, CCS, the Boxing Club and the Brady Scholars Program, who previously hosted a candlelight vigil at the Rock for Weaver during Fall Quarter.
The service featured remembrances from Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin, Weinberg Dean Sarah Mangelsdorf and Professor Laurie Zoloth, director of the Brady Scholars Program, as well as brief remarks from representatives of groups Weaver participated in and ASG. Weaver's sister and brother-in-law were also in attendance to represent the Weaver family.
Telles-Irvin set the tone for the service by describing Weaver’s many roles, including “scholar,” “friend” and “conservationist,” a theme that was revisited many times during the service.
Mangelsdorf had originally met Weaver when she was awarded the Herder Prize for a philosophy paper and was struck by her intelligence, noting that “[Weaver] stood out even in such an institution as Northwestern.”
Zoloth agreed, adding that Weaver was the “intellectual center of her cohort” and that Weaver’s Brady Scholars class had decided to pursue her Evanston community service idea as their senior project.
“The work she promised will be done in her name,” Zoloth said.
The event concluded with the singing of the traditional Chi Omega parting song, “Shades,” and a prayer from Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg of Hillel, who encouraged those present to be reflect on Weaver’s legacy: "One way we can honor her memory is to embody some of who she was."