As colleagues and friends continue to fight an emotional battle after the death of Penn State graduate student Xiaohui Xia on Tuesday, they will hold a memorial ceremony tomorrow in celebration of her life.

Bill Saxton, director of International Christian Fellowship, said mourners will gather from 1 to 2 p.m. in the main worship hall of Pasquerilla Spiritual Center to honor Xia, who died from head injuries after she was hit by a car Feb. 9.

Since Xia's accident International Student Services, the food science department, the Chinese Friendship Association, the Graduate Student Association and others have joined together in an effort to provide support for her family.

Yi Chen, Xia's lab partner in the food science department, said he spent several daunting days and nights at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where Xia was air lifted after the incident.

As soon as Wei Qin, another graduate student in the food science department, heard about her friend's condition, she said she called Xia's family in China and told them the devastating news. She then contacted the U.S. Embassy in China to obtain visas for Xia's family to come over quickly.

"I called and woke them up -- it's a 13-hour time difference in China," she said. "But her family needed to come; we were unsure how long Xia would be with us."

Graduate student Baofang Liu, with the help of the food science administrative aide, Priscilla Ryland, bought plane tickets for Xia's 27-year-old sister and aunt at 4 a.m. Friday, and they arrived in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Insurance would not cover the plane tickets, so the food science department footed the bill.

The car that hit Xia, on South Allen Street near Logan Avenue, was driven by Harris Township Supervisor Clifford Warner, 73. She was listed in critical condition until she was pronounced dead Tuesday morning.

"The doctors told us it was a miracle she survived as many days as she did," Liu said. "After doing several brain tests on Tuesday, they decided she was in the same condition as when she arrived and there was no hope."

This incident wasn't the first tragedy that has affected the Xia family -- Liu said Xia's mother was unable to come see her because she is terminally ill, and her father died when Xia was 12 years old. Xia's brother-in-law has also been sick for several years and was unable to fly to the United States.

"She never once let us know how much grief her family had," Liu said. "We just found out from talking to her sister ... she was always positive and kept her head up."

Chen said Xia frequently talked about returning to China after she received her degree to support her mother.

"All she wanted to do was buy her mother a house in Beijing," Chen said.

Wei said Xia not only was a hard worker, but she often volunteered at a local church. At a recent Chinese New Year celebration, she spent the whole night taking tickets at the door because she wanted everyone else to enjoy the festivities.

During the summer, when Xia found out she was accepted to Penn State, she found graduate student Nan Lv's e-mail address on the Internet and contacted her.

"She told me how excited she was to come, and she felt like a part of her heart was already at Penn State, even though she was still in China," Lv said. "She said she believed her life would be so much better here."

Although when she came to Penn State her English was poor, Chen said Xia had been improving greatly in the six months she was here.

"Our adviser said she had so much potential," he said. "She was very ambitious --always asking questions -- and she was determined to succeed."

Chen said Xia's sister plans on staying in Pennsylvania for a few more weeks. She is receiving legal advice from local lawyers but has not decided anything specific.

The State College Police Department is still investigating the incident and is awaiting a report from a reconstructionist; no charges have been filed. Anyone who witnessed the accident is encouraged to call the police department at 234-7150.