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Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024
The Eagle

CAS commemorates life of alumnus killed in traffic accident

Friends and family celebrated the life of 2009 AU alumnus Andrew Wolf in a memorial service Oct. 12.

The 23-year-old, who received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from AU’s College of Arts and Sciences, was killed Sept. 16 during a cycling trip in Canada, where he was struck by a tractor trailer, The Eagle previously reported.

The service, sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religion, helped the family deal with Wolf’s sudden death.

"When there is a tremendous loss, it’s hard to get your hands around it because there is a deep silence," said Robert Wolf, Andrew’s father. "The memorial fills out that emptiness because there is a shared memory that brings him alive in some way."

Wolf, of New Jersey, was riding for the Otesha Project, a Canadian charity that promotes sustainable consumption and lifestyle choices through theater, experimental activities and storytelling, according to the project’s website.

Wolf was a member of the project’s Highlands and Islands Tour, a team that cycles across eastern Canada’s Maritime province to encourage youth environmental education, according to the project’s website.

Two other cyclists traveling with Wolf along a four-lane highway sustained minor injuries, according to the website for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Wolf went to Chile in 2008 and wrote his thesis on student social justice in Chile and graduated from AU Magna Cum Laude, NorthJersey.com reported.

Wolf was a chef and educator at Brainfood — a D.C. non-profit organization that reaches teens through food. He also worked in New York for the Children’s Aid Society as a food educator.

Students, staff and faculty joined the Wolf family in remembering Wolf’s time at AU.

Professor Jin Park taught Wolf in a course on Derrida and Buddhism and said she knew at once that he was a philosophy major.

"Andrew was a smart, smart kid, who was going to go to Mexico and work on the food issues," Park said. “He was just the most thoughtful person.”

Chris Watson, Wolf’s colleague, who had worked with him on his Fulbright proposal to Mexico described Andrew as someone who had a lot of respect for human dignity.

Shelly Harshe, the administrative assistant of the philosophy and religion department, said Andrew would always stop by her office to catch up.

"He was full of energy and was interested in everything,” Harshe said. “He cared about how I was doing and how my studies were going.”

AU alumna Corina Parkwell, who used to be friends with Andrew, said he "was enthusiastic and he danced with reckless abandon. Andrew was the sweetest and loveliest guy.”

A philosophy graduate student, Phil Vaughn, Andrew's friend, said Andrew loved hanging in the library and "everything he did had to do with love."

"We have heard a lot about his passion, compassion and inquisitive nature," said AU Chaplain Rev. Mark Schaefer. “Andrew was someone that saw everything as something precious, so the best way to honor him is by taking what you've learned from Andrew and applying it in your own lives.”

The Rotary Club of Ridegewood A.M. will sponsor a scholarship in Wolf’s name, to be awarded to “community-minded students,” his father Robert Wolf said.

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