Middlebury mourns death of Will Nash '20

Will Nash ’20, an economics major from San Anselmo, California, died early Saturday morning after experiencing a “reaction related to drug use,” according to a statement sent to the Middlebury community by President Laurie Patton later that day. 

The Middlebury Police Department (MPD) received a call from the college’s Department of Public Safety at 3:57 a.m. Saturday asking for assistance with a student who “was exhibiting unusual behavior,” according to a press release written by MPD Sgt. Michael Christopher. Officers determined that Nash, the student in question, “may [have been] experiencing a medical event.” Nash was subsequently transported to Porter Hospital by Middlebury Regional Emergency Medical Services (MREMS), where he was pronounced dead. 

An autopsy is pending and an investigation ongoing, Christopher wrote in the press release. 

Nash, who lived in Atwater Hall this year, was a Spanish minor and studied abroad in Madrid, Spain in the fall of his junior year. He was a pole vaulter on the men’s track team through his sophomore year. He and a friend founded their own streetwear company, Semiaquatics, in November, producing sustainably-sourced hoodies, T-shirts, sweaters and skateboards. 

Patton’s email said that Nash is survived by his parents, Kristin and Lenny Nash; his twin brother, Drew Nash, a senior at Wake Forest University; and his sister Catie, a sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley.

Detailed plans for a celebration of Nash’s life will be sent to the community soon, according to the statement.

The Campus plans to publish an obituary of Will Nash with commentary from his family, friends and peers. If you were close to him and would like to share memories of Nash for publication, please email The Campus at campus@middlebury.edu.