Classmates remember student's devotion, humor

By Maggie VanBuskirk

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Friends say Cecile Hernandez was a motivated and determined young women, who worked hard to accomplish her goals. Hernandez worked at her many jobs and extracurricular activities with fervor, completing and participating in each project with skill, ease and a smile.

Alice Hahn, Olathe senior, went to high school with Hernandez at Olathe East.

“I don’t think there was anything Cecile didn’t do,” Hahn said. “What was so amazing about her was her talent to just pick up anything and finish something beautifully, whether it was artwork or planning an event.”

Hernandez, Olathe senior, died Friday in a car accident.

During her years at the University of Kansas, Hernandez was the marketing manager for the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, vice president of technology for the American Business Women’s Association, a member of the women’s club lacrosse team and president and treasurer of the Biomedical Engineering Society.

JudeAnne Jasso-Murad, a high school friend, said Hernandez also began her own company called Surfing Our Society, which helped the elderly learn how to use the Internet.

Between her many jobs and activities, Hernandez worked out at the Recreational Center and motivated friends to live a healthy lifestyle. Hahn said, Hernandez enjoyed summer when she could barbecue with friends and ride her jet ski. Cold weather didn’t stop her from accomplishing new feats, last winter she traded her wakeboard for a snowboard.

Hernandez’s sense of humor and amusement in everyday life, as well as her compassion for other people, was a contribution to everyone who knew her, Hahn said,

“Cecile was always devoted to her friends and family and made sure that they were always taken care of and happy,” Hahn said. “Time spent with Cecile never got old because she always had something quirky to say.”

—Edited by Ben Smith

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