At a Tuesday evening vigil for Andrea Rodriguez Avila, one speaker recalled someone’s words in the wake of her killing: “No one’s life is summarized by the end.”
The speaker, Adrianne Washington, dean of special academic programs at the Essex campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, said she’d sat with that for a few days and come to the realization that it was important to focus on how Avila, who she called “one of our brightest stars,” had lived.
“She was dynamic, and she contributed significantly to our community. While she may not be alive in the literal sense, the best of her lives within each of us every day,” Washington said.
Avila, a recent graduate of the CCBC Essex campus, was found dead on Aug. 26 in her Rice University dorm room. Both she and a 22-year-old man with her were found shot. The local medical examiner’s office in Houston last week ruled her death a homicide and the man’s a suicide.
But on Tuesday, as dusk fell, her classmates, professors and mentors chose to remember her time with them, rather than how her life ended. More than 70 people — more people than there were chairs set out — gathered to share memories in Avila’s honor. Her uncle, Manuel Albornoz, said the attendees together were a testament to who she was, the person that “we knew and loved.”
Classmates remembered how welcoming she was, drawing them outside of their shells. A few described meeting her at low points in their own lives, only for her to create with them lasting friendships. Professors and mentors shared that they’d learned from her, even as she learned from them.
Andrew Rusnak, an English professor of Avila’s, read from a letter of recommendation he’d written as she applied to colleges. She had thoughtful contributions in class, he wrote. She was well-respected, diplomatic and courteous. It was clear, he added, that her advocacy ran deep. Avila held leadership positions, excelled academically and had even recently submitted a piece on Afrofuturism to a publisher and had it accepted, as a college sophomore.
“I know everyone is experiencing great loss, none more than the family, but I think about what the world lost,” Rusnak said. “The world lost someone who could truly change the world. We don’t see that much. But Andrea had that capability. For that, we will surely miss her and everything she could have done.”
The community college has described Avila, who lived in eastern Baltimore County, as a “passionate leader, an exceptional scholar and a mentor to many.” At the vigil, CCBC President Sandra Kurtinitis announced two $1,000 scholarships in Avila’s memory that will be given to honor students this year.
After the speeches, friends of Avila passed out candles to attendees for a moment of reflection. The candles flickered through the rows of people seated, and those standing behind, some embracing. Before them, on either side of a podium, one table invited attendees to write letters to Avila’s family. The other featured a posterboard with a collage of photos. At the center, candles flanked a photo of her smiling.
Marina Deka, a CCBC student who attended the vigil, described Avila as a role model to her and others at the Essex campus. The two met in a mentorship program, where Avila was serving as a senior mentor, advising the others. She had a warm presence, Deka said before the vigil, and was outgoing.
“If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to help others the same way she had or maintain a positive attitude like she showed me,” Deka said. “She was a great influence on me.”
Aether Luces, who followed Avila as the president of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, said they last saw her over the summer, after Avila completed her first year at Rice University. They remembered her being excited about their recent graduation and next steps.
Luces, now a student at Goucher College, said they learned a lot from Avila about how to balance being dedicated to school and also enjoying life and friends.
Rice University officials previously said she was majoring in political science and was pre-law. She transferred to the school after graduating from the Community College of Baltimore County and Perry Hall High School.
The college student’s family remembered her, in a statement released through Rice University, as someone who impressed everyone she met with her “independence and sweet spirit.”
The statement said she attended Rice to “accomplish her dreams of helping others and changing the world through her career goal of working for the United Nations.” It added that she was born in Honduras, lived in both Spain and Maryland and spoke multiple languages.
Her family said it hoped the “tragedy of her death” could be used to “make a difference.”
“As someone who helped others, we ask that her fellow students and friends help celebrate her memory by caring for others,” it said. “As grieving parents, we ask other parents to keep communicating with your children about all relationships and pay close attention to all concerns.”
