By Sean Colvin Staff writer
Susquehanna junior accounting major Corey Losch died in an automobile accident on Sept. 23.
A memorial service was held Sept. 25 for Losch. Students gathered around Arthur Plaza shortly after a colorful autumn sunset, bearing lit candles while faculty and peers spoke about Losch’s life and legacy.
Losch was shy, according to those that knew him, or at least he started out that way when he came to Susquehanna.
Originally from Millerstown, Pennsylvania, Losch was a team leader for Enactus and a member of the Gamma Beta Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. It was these institutions and the discovery of a network of close friends that helped Corey break out of his shell at Susquehanna.
“Corey did a complete 180 since I met him,” said sophomore Mimi Diallo, a close friend of Losch’s. “He really stepped out of his shadow.”
Anya Dunn, a junior business major who knew Losch from the start of their time at Susquehanna, said that Losch was quiet but hard working.
“He always brought energy,” Dunn said.
Outside of the business school, Losch had rich friendships with those close to him.
“He loved his friends,” Diallo said. “He was a caring person, always there for everyone.”
Losch had a great sense of humor too, according to Diallo. He and his friends would often play a game called “odds” and joke about one another.
“We made fun of him a lot,” she said, “and he made fun of us too.”
Losch would post a picture of his roommate junior James Norman every day, as an inside joke for his friends, Diallo said. “You knew it was a bad day if Corey didn’t post a picture of James,” she added.
Diallo and her friends had thrown Losch a surprise party for his 21st birthday just three weeks prior to the accident.
Losch was an active member of Crossfit, and gym members said that he brought positivity to the gym. Chad Sickora, owner of the local Crossfit facility where Losch trained and helped out, said that he was driven and motivated.
Losch was scheduled to start working as a coach at Crossfit Bruin on Sept. 26, just days after the accident.
Losch was very close to his family, especially his mother, whom he cited as his favorite athlete in his Crossfit bio.
“He always had a smile on his face,” said Susquehanna senior and Crossfit trainer Connor Leggore. “His positive attitude rubbed off on everyone around him. Corey cared about everyone.”
Diallo, who found out about the accident via Snapchat, said, “We’re a pretty playful group, so when I found out, I thought it was a joke.”
She recalled going to sleep that night thinking positively, impatient for her friends to return home safe. “Death didn’t even cross my mind,” she said.
Two days later, students were gathered around Arthur plaza, mourning Losch’s death. “Hold tight to one another,” Susquehanna President L. Jay Lemons said during a speech honoring Corey. University Chaplain Scott Kershner led the memorial service.
“The pathway forward is always spent with those you love and care about. If you don’t know the words, it’s best just to be together, even in silence,” he said.
Kershner then led the group in a hymn: “I wish that I could show you, whenever you are walking in the dark, the astonishing light of your being,” students sang together in unison while the 8 p.m. cathedral bells tolled. Sobs echoed out from the crowd as the song ended, candles still burning.
Satpal Singh, a senior brother of Phi Beta Sigma, read a message from sophomore Jahine Brown, who was in the car accident with Losch, during the memorial. Part of the note read: “[Corey] touched the lives of many. Now it’s our job to make sure we touch the lives of others. Rest in peace Corey.”
