Ray Whitehouse/The Daily NorthwesternCorrie Lazar was “furious.”
That’s how she described herself to Kate Baldwin, director of the American Studies program, the first time they met. But Lazar didn’t mean she was angry, Baldwin said. She meant she was motivated, passionate and energetic.
This was the personality many of her friends described during her memorial service Thursday night at a nearly full Alice Millar Chapel. Lazar, who would have been a senior this year, was remembered by family and friends as a young woman with a love for life, who always smiled, was always optimistic and always placed the needs of others before her own.
World Smile Day was celebrated Thursday on campus, and Lazar’s friend Makoa Kawabata, a Weinberg junior, said there could not have been a better day to celebrate her life.
The 21-year-old Lazar was hit by a drunk driver on July 27 while working as a counselor at Camp Laurel in Maine. Lazar was an American Studies major, a community assistant in Foster-Walker Complex and a member of Mock Trial Team and Kappa Delta sorority. She transferred to NU from Western Washington University as a sophomore.
At Thursday’s service, mourners wore blue ribbons for drunken driving awareness and lit candles in Lazar’s memory.
Weinberg junior Brenna Helppie-Schmieder, a Mock Trial teammate of Lazar’s, recalled watching her play-act every character, from flirty photographer to drunken witness. Helppie-Schmeider also spoke about Lazar’s compassion for animals, which led her to become a vegetarian.
“I always felt bad for her,” Helppie-Schmeider said of Lazar’s difficulty finding food in the dining halls. “And she always felt bad for the animals I was eating.”
University Chaplain Rev. Timothy Stevens said Lazar never feared a challenge and added one of her favorite quotes reflected her tenacity:
“When life gives you lemons, make grape juice. Then sit back and watch the world wonder how the hell you did it.”
Lazar was a collector of quotes, which she kept in a journal for inspiration, Stevens said.
When Lazar transferred to NU, she found herself in a much better place than at her old school, said her sister, Hillary Lazar.
“Corrie was thriving and Corrie was happy here as part of this community,” she said.
Lazar’s oldest sister, Allyson Lazar, thanked NU students, teachers and administrators for all their support.
“My family and I are so touched by the outpouring of love the Northwestern community has shown,” Alyson Lazar said.
Jaime Dominguez, Lazar’s academic advisor, said he hopes his young daughter grows up to have many of the qualities and traits that Lazar exemplified. Lazar, he said, left her mark on NU.
“Corrie will be missed,” he said. “But she won’t be forgotten.”
