As the fall semester nears, members of Annenberg School of Communication's small community continue to mourn the loss of staff member Nicole Dickerson.
Dickerson, the undergraduate majors coordinator and a vivid personality at the school, died in July from lupus complications. She was 25.
"She was just a high-spirited person," said Beverly Henry, an administrative assistant at Annenberg and a close friend of Dickerson's.
"She would always have something to do or look forward to," Henry added. "She loved to travel, and was always planning a trip."
As undergraduate majors coordinator, Dickerson was in a position to develop relationships with students and help shape their Penn careers.
"She really was able to communicate with them, make sure they kept focused," Henry said.
Undergraduate Dean Barbie Zelizer added that Dickerson "cared a lot about the undergraduate curriculum and about all affairs connected to students."
In addition to guiding undergraduates in course selection, Dickerson also worked extensively with the Undergraduate Communications Society, which had previously been inactive.
Dickerson was diagnosed with lupus -- an immune system disorder that causes many symptoms such as extreme fatigue, arthritis and kidney problems -- five years prior to her death. She had gone into remission and remained relatively free of symptoms for two years.
"Nicole never made a big issue of the fact that she had lupus, and not all of us knew," said Josh Gesell, executive assistant to the dean of Annenberg.
"She carried on as if she didn't have any problems," Gesell added.
One afternoon last month Henry said she returned to the office to find a team of paramedics there. Dickerson went into cardiac arrest later that night.
The tight-knit community at Annenberg was deeply affected by Dickerson's death.
"She was a real presence around here and I think that we'll all miss her," Zelizer said. "It's been hard coming to grips with the fact that she's no longer with us."
Gesell commented that Dickerson's death had a sobering effect on the Annenberg office.
"I think that any time you have someone who's very young and who gets particularly ill right in front of you, it's very difficult to accept that as a reality," he said.
"Her presence is certainly missed," Gesell added. "She was very funny and had a great sense of humor."
Dickerson came to Annenberg seven years ago after receiving her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University. She completed her graduate study at Annenberg, soon deciding to stay on as a staff member so that she could continue receiving medical care from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
The position of undergraduate majors coordinator was filled this month by Penn alumna Jill Bergeron.
