Heather Ahuero, an explorer, dancer, ‘great tennis player’ and second-year graduate student, died Monday, Nov. 9 while at a conference in Cincinnati.

The 23-year-old was in the College Student Personnel program at the University.

According to Jill Carr, dean of students, in an e-mail, Ahuero’s cause of death has not yet been released. Carr stated it would take about four to six weeks for the coroner’s results to be finalized.

Ahuero was a graduate hall director in McDonald last year and a graduate coordinator for academics and special programs this year.

The conference she attended was for professionals interested in study abroad, said Sarah Waters, senior associate director of Residence Life.

Waters said Ahuero was interested in the study abroad aspect of student affairs.

This year, Ahuero’s office was across from Waters’.

‘She was a very kind professional, just fun-loving person,’ Waters said. ‘She was one of the most open-minded people we had on staff. That was a key thing she brought to all of us.’

Waters was able to meet Ahuero’s family while attending her funeral last week in Denver, Colorado, near where Ahuero grew up. Waters said she hoped Ahuero’s family could come up to Bowling Green to hear stories from her friends here because she thought Ahuero’s friends were planning another local memorial service in the next couple of weeks. Last Thursday, members of Transcendence paid tribute to Ahuero with a slideshow in the Union.

‘I’ll miss her smile and her upbeat professionalism,’ Waters said. ‘I’ll miss her commitment to her students. She had a lot of students she impacted.’

Three of Ahuero’s friends, Elizabeth Wenger, Kelsey Kowalewski and Dave Stockton, all second-year graduate students, came together last Sunday to talk about the impact Ahuero left on their lives.

Wenger met Ahuero last year.

‘When I think about Heather, I think about how she was the most passionate person I know, about everything,’ she said.

Wenger said she thought Ahuero’s involvement on campus showed her dedication to helping others. Kowalewski agreed, and said ‘advocate’ was a popular word to describe Ahuero. She was involved in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and ethnic issues.

‘She was very into social justice,’ Stockton said. ‘She wasn’t judgmental in any way.’

Kowalewski said Ahuero was also serious about her academics.

‘She was very much a student,’ she said. ‘She was always absorbing new information. Definitely a scholar.’

But Ahuero’s hobbies didn’t end with academics.

‘Heather danced a lot,’ Stockton said.

‘Not professionally trained or anything,’ Kowalewski said.

‘Just for the love of dancing,’ Wenger said.

Kowalewski said she would dance during fire drills in the residence halls.

‘The building’s being evacuated and you’d be like, ‘What are you doing?” she said. ‘And she’d say ‘What? It’s not a big deal.”

Stockton said she was very into nature too.

Ahuero grew up in Colorado and finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Puget Sound surrounded by mountains, forest and water.

‘She wasn’t getting much nature living in Bowling Green, but she had a list in her office of things to love about Ohio,’ Stockton said, ‘like the snow.’

The night Ahuero died, those who worked in Residence Life were called together.

‘It was really touching to see how many people came together for it,’ Kowalewski said.

Those who weren’t in Residence Life were told via e-mail.

‘Someone called me,’ Stockton said. ‘I think everyone made a point to call before the e-mail was read.’

Kowalewski said it was still sinking in.

‘The hardest part is getting back to whatever normal is going to be,’ she said. ‘I think second semester will be more difficult.’

Stockton said at times he felt guilty for beginning to move on and make peace with it. He said the worst part was knowing the plans she made for the future. Wenger agreed.

‘There are so many things we already started to plan for next semester,’ Wenger said.

She said this semester was the first semester she and Ahuero shared no classes, and this was the first semester they were just friends instead of classmates.

‘I still get the instinct, ‘Oh, I’ve got to call Heather’, or ‘I’ve got to text Heather’,’ Wenger said.

Kowalewski said she would miss the laughter most.

‘There have been a lot of funny things that happened in the last week or so, and I miss being able to call her,’ she said.

Stockton said he would miss the conversation. He and Ahuero shared an office every Wednesday, and he hasn’t been in the office since she died.

He completed his undergraduate degree in England, while she completed hers in Washington, and her family lived in Colorado. Stockton said they connected over being far from their undergrad experience, and being far from home.

‘Everyone becomes a saint or angel in death, but I don’t think it’s possible to glamorize Heather like that,’ he said. ‘She was just her.’ Wenger said Ahuero was just a good person.

‘The fact that she was so unique allowed her to touch many different people,’ she said. ‘It’s a loss for everybody, even those who didn’t get to meet her.”