I realize that no single article can completely and truthfully summarize a person's life or death, and the article about the tragedy involving Shellie Smarowsky is no different. I felt the need to write to tell what I know about Shellie, and the person who she was.

I met Shellie in German class during the fall 2000 after she had transferred from Penn State's Delaware County campus. It took a little while to get to know her, but I knew immediately how special she really was. We grew very close over the past year and a half, and no words can be used to justify or express how much of an impact she has had in my life and on the lives of everyone who came into contact with her.

To know her was to love her. Shellie was loved greatly by myself, my family, her family, all of her many friends and especially her roommates. I know no one who has a heart the size of Shellie's, or a smile and laugh as contagious. Shellie was an angel on Earth, and the only comfort is that we can be sure that she is smiling down on us now.

She always talked about the future, and how nervous and excited she was. Her short 21 years on Earth changed a lot of lives for the better, and one can only imagine how far she would have gone and how many more lives she would have changed if she only had the chance. As time passes, the exact memories of what Shellie said and did may begin to blur, but never will I forget the way she made me feel.