Bill Marciniak will be remembered as a true Penn State fan. He avidly attended football games and planned to cheer on the team at the Orange Bowl.

Marciniak, a 22-year-old senior at Penn State, died Tuesday morning in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., less than 24 hours before he was supposed to attend the Orange Bowl. He was hit by a freight train at about 3 a.m. as he and a friend crossed train tracks about 100 feet north of the designated crossing intersection.

Before the accident, Marciniak and a friend had visited several nightspots in Fort Lauderdale's Himmarshee entertainment district. It has not been determined if the accident is alcohol related, according to Fort Lauderdale police.

Friends and family said Marciniak's positive outlook and ability to make people laugh was adored by everyone he knew.

"He was just a happy-go-lucky kid with a great sense of humor," said Marciniak's father, William Marciniak. "He was an adventurous person and had a love for the outdoors."

Bill Marciniak's friend, who crossed safely at the train tracks, did not attend Penn State but was from his hometown of Pittsburgh, William Marciniak said. Police have not released his name.

"He was a close friend from home," William Marciniak said. "A bunch of friends went down in a group to Florida, some from Penn State and others from the neighborhood."

While at Penn State, Bill Marciniak spent much of his time working as a student manager at the Big Onion in East Halls' Findlay Commons.

"He was a hard worker and became friends with all his co-workers," said manager Michael Girouard. "They are a close-knit group, and he participated on several intramural sports teams for the Big Onion."

Girouard said the next few weeks are going to be difficult for employees at the Big Onion.

"It will be hard to carry on and go about our jobs without him there," he said.

Adrienne Beck (sophomore-economics), who originally met Marciniak through the Big Onion, said she, Marciniak and a bunch of other friends lived together in a house on Beaver Avenue over the summer.

"He was the big brother I never had," she said. "He will always be remembered for his crazy, loveable, sarcastic personality."

Geoff Baumes (senior-landscape architecture) also worked with Marciniak for the past several years at the Big Onion.

"I honestly don't know of anyone who didn't like him after first meeting him," Baumes said.

Baumes said the two spent time together at work and work-related parties, which Marciniak loved to host.

"Bill, more than anyone, was always up for having fun, and a lot of people looked up to him because of his accepting personality," he said. "All of Bill's friends would agree that he made a big impact on the lives of anyone he knew."

In addition to attending Penn State, Bill worked as an intern engineer with HRI Inc., a State College-based contracting company. He also joined Alpha Fire Co. as a firefighter in October.

Marciniak loved the Pittsburgh Steelers and entertaining his friends. He was also looking forward to starting the next phase of his life with a Penn State civil engineering degree, which he would have received this spring.

"Bill was one of my best friends, roommate and the greatest person I have ever known," Greg Cameron, Class of 2005, said. "His personality was unmatched. Never in my life have I known a person that was loved and adored by so many people."

A funeral mass will be held at Incarnation Parish in Pittsburgh today at 10 a.m. Interment will follow in St. Stanislaus Cemetery.