Photo courtesy of McKenzie Oster
Elizabeth “Liz” Van Kleek (right) posed for a photo at her senior awards night on June 3 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. Van Kleek won a scholarship from her high school marketing department that night.

By Rocío Hernández

From the moment Elizabeth “Liz” Van Kleek received her acceptance letter from the University of Nevada, Reno on Oct. 25, 2013, she anxiously counted the days she would fully immerse herself into college life.

By the time freshman Van Kleek’s first semester began, she had found the perfect residence hall to live in. She ambitiously signed up to be a business and environmental science dual major. As an only child, she hoped to find a sisterhood in the Panhellenic Council.

“[Van Kleek] was so excited to be starting college and embarking on her own,” said long-time friend Madelaine Cordes. “From all the things I saw on Facebook, she truly enjoyed the short time she spent there.”

Van Kleek passed away in her sleep on Dec. 7 in her room at the Nevada Living Learning Community. On January 2014, Van Kleek had been diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome, a heart rhythm disorder that causes rapid, irregular heartbeats. Doctors believed the syndrome contributed to the 19-year-old’s death.

Van Kleek is survived by her parents, Barbara and David Van Kleek, her uncles Derrel and Randi Dale, David and Anita Willams, James and Lanore Van Kleek and her aunt Lois Engel.

Freshman Taylor Sawyer met Van Kleek during the summer at UNR’s BizFit, an education camp designed to further prepare students for their transition into college. Van Kleek was one of her first and closest friends at the university. After Van Kleek’s passing, Sawyer wanted to do something for Van Kleek’s parents, who hadn’t seen their daughter since she moved into the LLC.

Sawyer and other LLC residents wrote letters about Van Kleek so that her parents could know how much she meant to them and be able to take their memories of Van Kleek back home with them. When Barbara and David Van Kleek arrived at the LLC, they met with Van Kleek’s friends for two and a half hours.

As the students read the letters they had prepared, Barbara said that the room quickly filled with love, sadness, laughter and tears.

David and Barbara Van Kleek learned that for many students, their daughter was the first person that made them feel welcome at the university. Other friends described Van Kleek as a “joyous light,” “the glue that held the floor together,” and a motherly figure among the residents of the third floor of the LLC.

“She had the biggest heart,” Sawyer said. She was thoughtful and remembered the little things about her friends. She took care of us if we ever needed anything.”

Three weeks before her passing, Van Kleek was initiated into the Eta Iota chapter of Delta Gamma. According to her mother, Van Kleek was hoping to gain the sisters that she never had by joining the sorority.

18-year-old Haley Roberts knew Van Kleek since they were in kindergarten. She remembered Van Kleek as not only caring and kind, but also sympathetic. According to Roberts, Van Kleek was always able to give people words of encouragement, especially when they were most needed.

“She would believe in you more than you would in yourself and she had a gift for always seeing the good in people,” Roberts wrote in her blog.

Faith was a large component of Van Kleek’s life. Growing up, Van Kleek attended the Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Oregon with Cordes, who had known Van Kleek years 11 years. Cordes always found Van Kleek at church by the time she arrived. Cordes remembers that Van Kleek actively participated in their teen Bible study, even when others were quiet. Her participation was something that Cordes admired.

“From what I saw, she definitely lived her faith, and showed God’s love through her actions,” Cordes said.

A month after Van Kleek’s passing, freshman Jessica Rapp reflected on her experience on the loss of a friend. Rapp said that because of Van Kleek, she has learned to believe in herself.

“She showed me that we aren’t invincible, just because we’re young doesn’t mean we can do anything we want,” Rapp posted on Van Kleek’s Facebook wall. “She proved to me that life is in fact short so we should love every minute of it. And she instilled my dreams in me.”

Rocío Hernández can be reached at rhernandez@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @rociohdz19.