Friends gather in Sheahan's memory

Engineering sophomore Joe Weinhoffer says that among his group of friends, Michael Sheahan was "the glue that brought us together."

Those friends and classmates of Sheahan, an Engineering sophomore who was killed in an Aug. 25 car accident, came together last night in McClelland Hall to share memories and honor Sheahan's life.

Sheahan, 20, died in an automobile accident in Caledonia, Ill. He is originally from Madison, Wis.

Susan Margulies - Sheahan's academic advisor and professor for Bioengineering 100 last year - spoke of Sheahan's drive for learning as well as his openness and compassion.

She said he was a "genuinely nice person - earnest, outgoing, fun-loving and very smart."

Margulies added that in their meetings last year, she noticed Sheahan was "comfortable with himself - which is not so common with freshmen."

Weinhoffer, Sheahan's roommate from last year, was one of nine students who spoke at the memorial service.

Weinhoffer said that while their group of friends was made up of many different people - athletes, scholars, artists - Sheahan related to each of these identities.

"To put it bluntly, he made our group what it was," Weinhoffer said.

Weinhoffer said that even though Sheahan is gone, this should be "a reason to grieve, but not reason to despair."

Other friends, classmates and teammates who wished to share memories and thoughts about Sheahan also spoke.

College sophomore Liz Grant described Sheahan's strong sense of humor.

"Every time I was with Michael, he would make me laugh," she said.

She talked about a time last year when she and several of their friends took Sheahan's keys and created a scavenger hunt through the Quadrangle for him to get them back.

In retaliation, Sheahan "stole our PennCards, keys and phones," Grant said.

"To this day, I still don't know where he hid my PennCard," she laughed, in one of the service's lighter moments.

The memorial service also included a photo slide show and two songs performed by the Penn Glee Club.

Eduardo Glandt, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, also spoke at the service. He said that while he did not know Sheahan personally, "hearing about him makes me wish I had."

The service was closed by University Chaplain Charles Howard.

"As big as this school is, as busy as you are, you have stopped to remember," he said.

Howard said that Sheahan's friends and classmates now need to ask themselves how they could honor his memory.

Those who spoke stressed the importance of learning from Sheahan's life and accomplishments.

"Even though Michael is gone in body, his spirit still remains here in all of us," Weinhoffer said. "He touched us all in ways we will never fully understand . and we will never forget all that we learned from him as a classmate, a teammate, a roommate and a friend."

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