Kind
Powerful
Mischievous
Thoughtful
These were just a few of the words more than 100 members of the Allegheny community used to describe Cinna Krushel, ’27, in a vigil in her honor on Sunday, Sept. 24. Krushel, 19, of New York, passed away last Thursday, leaving an indelible impact on the college and her peers.
“She was very unique, probably one of the most unique people I’ve met,” said Elanor Bonta, ’26, who said Krushel was her best friend.
Bonta described how Krushel would eat most anything she would find, even off the floor. In their final interaction last week, Bonta recounted texting Krushel about a new kind of fruit tree, to which Krushel replied, “‘Nice, free fruit!’”
“She was very wise, for someone her age,” Bonta said. “Also, very funny.”
Bonta was one of more than a dozen students who spoke of their experiences with Krushel — how they met her, how she would enthusiastically greet them in the halls, how she was a light in their lives.
Multiple students recalled her birthday party on Sept. 11, just over a week before she passed away — a celebration Bonta called “absolutely legendary.”
“She is the most real person I think I’ve ever met,” Cameron Medvitz, ’27, said during the vigil.
Krushel’s influence extended off campus as well; Jaroslav Botka, a jiu-jistu instructor in Meadville, said that her compassion for others was evident in the way she took care of her sparring partner, Bonta, in an at-times dangerous sport.
“It says something about her kindness and her dedication to service, to those around her,” Botka said.
Krushel — and the outpouring of grief and support after her passing — also left a mark on the college’s faculty and staff. Learning Specialist Jennifer Franz, who taught Krushel in her EDUC-100 “Introduction to Education Studies” class, described Krushel as “a careful and thoughtful listener.”
“By putting kindness first, as Cinna did, we can honor her memory and the person she was,” Franz said.
The outpouring of remembrance convinced Dean for Student Success Ian Binnington to change his own comments towards the close of the event.

“What I would have said at the beginning was that this was a student that was going to make a difference in people’s lives,” Binnington said during the vigil. “I’m wrong, because this was a student that has already made a difference in people’s lives.”
Like Franz, Binnington identified Krushel as someone who fostered community.
“She cared about people, she saw people,” Binnington said. “And that’s something worth cherishing, that’s something worth remembering, that’s something worth trying to emulate.”
College President Ron Cole, ’87, used his time to recognize “the strength of this Allegheny community in support of one another.”
“In times of tragic loss and sadness, we have nothing if we don’t have each other,” Cole said. “As we mourn the loss of Cinna, let’s keep her in our hearts, keep her in our minds.”

Cause of death
Krushel passed away in the intensive care unit of the Meadville Medical Center on the early afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 21, the Meadville Tribune reported last week.
She had been found unresponsive in her Schultz Hall dorm room Tuesday night, where she had gone into cardiac arrest. Krushel was taken via ambulance to the MMC, where she was revived and placed in the ICU.
Krushel’s passing is not considered suspicious, but an investigation into her passing remains open, the Tribune reported.
Crawford County Coroner Scott Schell did not return a phone call made to his office.