She loved cars so much that she was pursuing an engineering degree in hopes of becoming a car designer, Karoline Smith said of her sister, who died Sunday.

But her passion for cars wasn't the first thing that came to mind when friends and family remembered freshman Bethany Cynthia Smith. It was her outgoing personality, her athletic skill and her talent for art that many will remember the 18-year-old by.

"She was a very unique individual. She was beautiful; she was outgoing; she was smart and funny — all those wonderful things you look for in a friend," Beth Peters, her Thompson Hall roommate, said.

Peters (freshman-architectural engineering) found Smith without a pulse in their dorm room at 2:30 a.m. Sunday and called Penn State Police Services. Smith was pronounced dead at Centre Community Hospital within the hour.

Police said there is no evidence of foul play at this time, and they are waiting for the results of a toxicology report to determine the cause of death.

"It's just going to depend on what we get back from those (toxicology) reports," Penn State Police Services Officer Carrie Gratzmiller said. "There's going to be a lot of factors to consider."

Gratzmiller said investigators are talking to friends to reconstruct the events surrounding Smith's death.

Peters said when she left her dorm room that Saturday night, Smith was asleep and not planning to go out. When Peters and her boyfriend returned from a night out, they found Smith in an awkward position and knew something was wrong.

Residence Life offered Peters a new dorm room, and she moved yesterday afternoon.

Bethany Cynthia Smith

Peters said Smith was close with friends from high school and visited her boyfriend in her hometown of Ambler often.

Katie Eveland, a friend of Smith's since middle school, described her as intelligent and motivated.

"Any loss of life at this age is so sad, even so much harder as a friend," Eveland said. "She was so smart, always kept up with her grades and always pushed others."

In a math class together, if Eveland got anything less than an 'A,' her friend would ask her why, and encourage her to do better.

Smith's older sister Karoline (senior-animal bioscience) said she was also talented at art.

"Bethany was really into art and into fashion," Karoline said. "She won several best-of-show awards for drawing and sculpture."

The two sisters both lived in West Halls, which helped them keep in touch by being able to meet in the dining commons, Karoline said.

Karoline said her sister, the youngest of three siblings, was "really social" and "loved to have a good time."

Eveland called her friend "a wonderful person, so much fun to be around."

"She'll be missed by everybody," Eveland said.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in the First Presbyterian Church, 356 Summit Road in Springfield. People are invited to visit with the family after the service, Karoline said.