Photo courtesy of CSULB.
A remembrance event will be held Sunday at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) for senior design student Nohemi Gonzalez—the only American killed in last November’s Paris attacks.
The informal gathering will be held in the Department of Design gallery from 12:30PM to 2:30PM and will include a tree-planting ceremony, initiated by the campus’ French Club, at the campus’ south entrance, just across from the Foundation Building, according to university officials.
The 23-year-old El Monte woman was studying abroad at the Strate College of Design in Paris at the time of her death. She was killed November 13, 2015 while eating with friends at a Parisian bistro.
Since her death, school officials have honored Gonzalez’ memory through posthumous recognitions for her dedication and hard work in the design department.
In May, she was conferred a bachelor’s degree and recognized as an outstanding graduate during an Alumni Awards banquet.
School officials also announced that an international study scholarship fund honoring Gonzalez exceeded its original goal of $25,000 with individual donations and a $75,000 gift by an anonymous individual.
The fund “will assist CSULB students with international travel and study-abroad opportunities”, according to the fundraising site.
“To date, we have raised a $106,000 endowment out of which we can support a student (or students) in their academic pursuits related to international study,” said CSULB Department of Design Chair Martin Herman.
He expects the endowed fund to create $4,000 to $5,000 annually to be used for one or more deserving students and be split to support more than one student at a time. With the application process underway, the first scholarships could be awarded as soon as the spring or summer, but more likely next fall, Herman told university spokesman Shayne Schroeder.
The design department is also raising funds for the Nohemi Gonzalez Shop Initiative—a campaign to raise money to refurbish, remodel and rename the department’s lower division shop.
“The lower division shop is a place where Nohemi invested so much of her passion and her time, not only for her own projects, but also in helping students from all of our Design majors in their work,” Herman said in a statement earlier this year. “Although Nohemi’s journey in Design was tragically cut short, her ideals and her spirit will be kept alive and celebrated through this initiative.”