 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Kara Robbins")
Boston College senior Kia Rozier, 21, died at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton on Wednesday from sudden pulmonary complications. Rozier, a music major originally from Lakeville, NJ, was active in the BC Symphony Orchestra and the BC Chamber Music Society. She had planned to perform a senior recital in the spring.
Although Rozier, A&S '04, had been receiving medical attention over the summer in New Jersey and had been diagnosed with pneumonia, her death came as a "total surprise," according to Dr. Thomas Nary, director of University Health Services. Rozier checked herself into the BC Infirmary on Tuesday evening, at which point Nary immediately transferred her to St. Elizabeth's after reviewing her condition.
Within hours of Rozier's admittance, friends, roommates, and BC faculty had convened in the hospital's waiting room. Nary had arrived on the scene as well and worked as a "liaison" between doctors and those in the waiting room, according to Rozier's roommate Sara Birnbaum, A&S '04.
"This was an acute and unexpected event," said Nary. "But there is nothing any one has found to suggest that this is something infectious."
"There is no precise diagnosis on her death," said Nary, who has downplayed rumors connecting Rozier's death to contagious or air-borne illnesses, such as Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Also in attendance at the hospital were three Jesuit priests representing BC Campus Ministry. Although Rozier was not religious, her father and mother, Sterling and Bernetta Rozier, were said to have appreciated the department's help in leading a nondenominational prayer for Rozier just after her death.
"We just came together in a circle and shared stories," said Rev. Donald MacMillan, SJ, of Campus Ministry, who had been contacted by the mother of one of Rozier's roommates. "She really needed my support, and I was glad to offer what help I could, even if it was only a shoulder to cry on."
Friends and roommates also appreciated Campus Ministry's help in passing on information obtained from medical staff. "They were incredibly open and honest with us about what was going on, which was really important to us," said Caroline Kita, A&S '04.
In the days after her death, Rozier's common room in Mod 12A became a meeting place for family, friends, and roommates of Rozier to support one another. "The girls really had a great support system," said MacMillan, who stopped by the residence later in the week.
That same common room had become a makeshift home for Rozier's boyfriend, Patrick Mercer, 20, who had consistently driven up from New Jersey to visit Rozier since the beginning of the semester.
"Kia lived her life to the fullest. She had no regrets and did all of the things that she loved, and she would want us to follow her lead," Mercer wrote in an e-mail statement to The Heights. "All through her life she had a special effect on those around her. She was one of the nicest people that anyone could hope to meet, and she was a compassionate woman who had a big heart because she cared for her friends and family so deeply."
Sterling and Bernetta Rozier arrived at St. Elizabeth's shortly after their daughter's death. Although the two had asked for some time alone with doctors, they were also an integral part of the support system in the waiting room, according to MacMillan.
Rozier's parents, three older brothers, and extended family members will be attending a funeral today in Lakeville, NJ. Several roommates and close friends departed for New Jersey on Sunday afternoon to support her family and aid in the preparations. According to Kara Robbins, A&S '04, they have requested the Office of the Dean for Student Development to reserve a bus to take any additional students to New Jersey early Tuesday morning.
Friends and teachers agreed that music played a huge role in Rozier's time at BC. "Kia was part of a really amazing blossoming of talented young women her freshman year," explained professor Jeremiah McGrann of the music department, who had Rozier as a student.
"She had such a soft-spoken, casual manner," said McGrann . "But when she played music, she had this incredible fire and passion.
"Her plan was that she was going to get an education degree," he said. "She really wanted to give back her love of music. It's cliché to say, but one can't help but think of all the people that she could have had an impact on."
"Music really was her passion," agreed Robbins, one of her roommates.
"Every opportunity to get involved, she did it," added Birnbaum. "She was extremely dedicated and always practiced. It was an inspiration."
Roommates stressed her genuine nature and "comforting" sense of humor.
"She was the first person I reached out to at BC," said Robbins. "She really took care of me."
Rozier would have turned 22 on Saturday, but was more concerned with the birthdays of her close friends.
On Friday, her roommate Caroline Rita, A&S '04, received a birthday present Rozier had ordered on the Internet a few days before her death.
"It says a lot about who Kia was that I got that," said Rita. "We all shared a laugh."
Members of the BC community who were close to Rozier hope to continue to commemorate her life.
"She doesn't want us to be crying, but laughing," said Rita.
Mercer agreed. "Celebrate and rejoice in her life; it is what she wants for us."
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