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Printer-Friendly ModeFriends, family honor late students
September 10, 2007 —
19-year-old incoming freshman 'knew what she wanted out of life'
Erica LaMay was barely old enough to vote when she opened her 401(k) plan, complete with savings from her part-time Abercrombie & Fitch and Citizens Bank of Saginaw jobs.
"I was in my thirties when I opened my 401(k)," her mother, Sandra LaMay, said. "This kid was on top of things -- she was beautiful inside and out."
LaMay, a 19 year old entering SVSU student from Clio, died late August 25 after a car struck her as she crossed Bay Road in front of campus. The funeral service took place August 30 at the O'Guinn Family Funeral Home in Clio.
Her friends will remember LaMay for her sense of humor, trend-setting abilities and Taco Bell cravings.
They say the chefs at the Taco Bell in Clio knew her by name because she would eat there at least twice a week.
"Erica would call me up all the time and say, 'Hey, I'm bored. Wanna go to Taco Bell?'" said Stephanie Reinhart, a 19-year-old SVSU student. "She didn't look like she ate a lot - but you'd be surprised."
When she wasn't at Taco Bell or working, LaMay was shopping or traveling with her mother.
"I've been all over the U.S. with her," Sandra LaMay said. "She loved to go places and see new things."
LaMay was excited about the future and planned to become an accountant, her mother said.
"Erica would have been very successful," she added. "She played down her intelligence sometimes for fun, but she was a very bright individual who knew what she wanted out of life."
Also surviving LaMay are her father, Jeff LaMay, sister, Shanda LaMay and several other family members and friends.
"I'll miss everything about her," Reinhart said. "She was one of those rare people who everyone loves when they meet."
23-year-old biology major changed lives for the better
When Elena Ayiomamiti danced with Abou Traore on Intercultural Night last semester, she knew she had met someone special.
"Before I even knew him well, what really made me notice him is that he always smiled, to everybody," she said. "He was really really friendly, although it looked like he was really shy."
Traore, a 23-year-old biology major born in Senegal, drowned while tubing on the Rifle River near Omer, Michigan on Saturday, Aug. 18.
Ayiomamiti and Traore's meeting was largely coincidence, but it couldn't have happened without Intercultural Night, an evening of song and dance put on every year by SVSU's international students. The lone Columbian student needed help with her presentation, so Traore and Ayiomamiti decided to help out.
"There was only one girl for Columbia, Maria, so we helped," Ayiomamiti said.
They became fast friends after dancing together, and grew to know each other well.
"Abou wanted to be a doctor and go back home and help the people of his country," she said.
"And even though he won't be able to do that anymore, he already saved many lives of his friends, and he changed us for the better."
Over 200 people attended a memorial for Traore on Aug. 21 in Founder's Hall.
"I know God has a place for everybody, especially the good guys," Ayiomamiti said. "And he was one of the good guys."