British exchange student Ella Keeler, who family and friends remember as caring and passionate, passed away at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Friday morning.
Although the University College London student’s cause of death has not been officially determined yet, Ella died of “something related to cardiac arrest,” according to her brother, Matthew Keeler.
Keeler suffered a cardiac arrest while jogging on campus about a week ago, according to the CaringBridge website run by her family. She underwent extensive surgery after the incident and had been in critical condition since then.
Keeler had no personal or family history of cardiac problems, according to Matthew.
She is survived by her parents, Christopher and Annette, as well as siblings Matthew and Suzanne, 33 and 30 years old, respectively.
A history major, Keeler attended the Tadcaster Grammar School in North Yorkshire, U.K., before studying at UCL.
She was a “keen soccer fan, who followed Arsenal [Football Club],” a supporter of Amnesty International and an active member of the UCL Labour Club, according to Matthew.
She had also won the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for her community service.
Keeler was “a loving, and well loved, young women with a gift for putting the needs of others before her own,” Matthew wrote in an e-mail.
He added that she had “a long standing ambition to study at a world renowned institution, and realised this by attending UPenn ... Her dream was to make it to the Ivy League, she worked hard to attain it, and thoroughly enjoyed her time here.”
Keeler’s death had a profound effect on members of the Penn community, including her friends at Stouffer College House.
“Our first weeks here would have been a much poorer time without Ella,” friend Ruth Hardwick, also a British exchange student at Penn, wrote in an e-mail.
“She was known amongst the group as our social chair; she was the person who met people, got involved in organizations and always knew where we should be heading to in the evening,” Hardwick wrote. “She was an example for all Penn students, but especially exchange students.”
Keeler was getting involved in the Social Events and Planning Committee, as well as Stouffer Steering and the Women’s Center.
“We are profoundly saddened to learn of Ella Keeler’s passing,” Penn President Amy Gutmann wrote in a statement. “Losing a young person in the prime of life is devastating. We can, however, take some comfort from knowing that Ella spent her final moments surrounded by her beloved family.”
UCL friends and classmates remember Keeler with equal affection.
“She was an incredible mix of ‘high brow’ and pop culture,” UCL student Leslie Kiddoo wrote in an e-mail. “Ella could happily talk about her love for Plato and Sex and the City in the same sentence, and this is one of the things that made her so popular amongst her friends.”
Kiddoo added that Keeler loved “girly things” but also “could get her hands dirty.”
She was “A real renaissance woman!” Kiddoo wrote.
Another UCL friend, Thomas Lees, described her as “open-minded,” “a firm believer in progressive politics,” and “a keen indulger in the arts.”
Friends and family members alike emphasized how happy she was to study at Penn.
“It was her dream to be here [at Penn] and she grabbed it with both hands,” Hardwick wrote.
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