Friends remember Angel Wilson as generous friend, talented student

Elizabeth Byrne, Summer Editor

At the first Northwestern Football home game of the season and almost every game after, Angel Wilson was in the stands supporting the ’Cats.

“I remember so many times cheering with her, standing in the stands, laughing and sometimes we would stay all the way until the end,” close friend and housemate Louise Houghton said. “There was one really cold game where we grabbed a blanket and were just standing there, waiting until the very end, with this blanket over our shoulders, just having a really good time.”

Houghton (Weinberg ’18) described Wilson as “generous spirit” who would “extend an open door to people and invite them into her plans.” She added that someone as kind as Wilson was “so special and sometimes rare” at NU.

Wilson, a Weinberg senior from Los Altos, California, died June 22 in her off-campus residence. Evanston police are still investigating the cause of death.

Abbey Schmitt (McCormick ’18), a close friend and housemate, said Wilson was always considerate and supportive of her friends. Schmitt said Wilson brought her parents to Schmitt’s acapella show to support her during Parent’s Weekend. Later that year, when Schmitt’s acapella group was touring the Bay Area, Schmitt said Wilson brought her parents to hear the group perform the same set of songs.

“There was just so much support,” Schmitt said. “Every time I had a solo in my acapella show, she would video it and send it to me. It just made me feel so special and so supported.”

Schmitt added that Wilson was “underratedly super talented.” Wilson always sat in the front row of her Biology classes and would “usually have a scientific answer” for random questions she had.

Meghan Fox (Weinberg ’18) lived with Wilson their senior year and said in a statement to The Daily that Wilson always helped her start off the day right.

“Pretty much every morning when she’d hear me get up she’d call my name and then listen for me to come into her room,” Fox said. “We would just lay in her bed and catch up and laugh about anything and everything.”

Fox added that Wilson wasn’t “capable of being selfish” and was there for her friends all the time.

Another close friend and housemate of Wilson’s, Stephanie Bernstein (Medill ’18), said she never saw Wilson get frustrated. At the beginning of senior year, Wilson’s car was towed for street cleaning and “she just laughed about it,” Bernstein said.

“She is 90 percent of my college memories,” Bernstein said. “She was there for every night out and every night in and every hard time. She was there for me like no one else.”

Bernstein said Wilson was her best friend, but that “she was everyone’s number one, everyone’s sidekick and right-hand woman.” Bernstein added that Wilson always had time “to be a friend,” which she said can be hard to find at NU.

Morgan Uridil (McCormick ’18), who met Wilson on the first day of Wildcat Welcome, told The Daily in an email that Wilson was “dependable” and “put those around her first.”

“In college you have many types of friends for different occasions such as studying, a lunch date, sitting around on a Saturday afternoon or going out with,” Uridil said. “What was special about Angel is that she was every one of these friends and more.”

Wilson was also a member of Refresh Dance Crew and Uridil said one of her favorite memories was going to her dance show to “support her for a change and see her participate in something she loved.”

Katelyn Noronha (Weinberg ’18) said in an email to The Daily that Wilson was “full of light” and made everyone around her feel “worthy of attention and love.”

“She was one of those people who was truly beautiful inside and out,” Noronha, who lived with Wilson, said. “I was lucky to have shared so many moments with her in the past four years”

Noronha added that Wilson’s “vibrant smile” is what she always pictures when she thinks of her.

Houghton said Wilson’s ability to “see the best in people” is what drew her into their friendship. Wilson’s constant support and genuine interest helped her through difficult times at NU, she said.

“She was actually this incredibly approachable person and so open-hearted and thoughtful,” Houghton said. “Those kind of people are incredibly hard to find.”

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