College mourns Nicholas Garza '11

Author: James Kerrigan

Tragedy struck the College at the end of the spring when the College community learned of the death of Nicholas Garza '11, whose body was recovered from Otter Creek on May 27. President Ronald D. Liebowitz notified the College community in an email sent to all students, faculty and staff at 9:51 p.m. on the night of the discovery.

The finding brought closure to an exhaustive four-month search that began after Garza disappeared on the night of Feb. 5. Middlebury Chief of Police Tom Hanley located the first-year while checking water temperatures in Otter Creek.

Dean of the College Tim Spears, Associate Dean Gus Jordan and twelve Middlebury students made the cross-country trip to attend the funeral service on June 28 in Garza's hometown of Albuquerque, N.M.

Despite only a semester and a Winter Term of studying at Middlebury, Garza touched so many. Spears' remarks at the funeral reflected the impact Garza made on all those around him.

Friends described him as curious, passionate and easy to be around.

"Sometimes I'd walk down the hall when the floor was quiet and crack open his door," said friend and classmate Brian Watroba '11. "'Hey Bri-Guy,' [Nick] would say, without really looking up. I felt so natural around him I never knocked, and sometimes I'd just go in and sit there at his desk … and neither of us would say anything for a short while. He'd look at me with a certain sincerity and vulnerability that he didn't normally show. Sometimes we'd share something small, and sometimes he or I would share something personal, but the thing I remember most is how I felt so incredibly natural around him."

Watroba was not alone in having a meaningful relationship with Garza.

In a letter written to Garza and read by Spears at the funeral service, Ben Brown '11 showed the closeness of his group of friends.

"You were the cornerstone of our fraternity of brothers," wrote Brown. "You taught me that life is about relationships and who you choose to surround yourself with. Your friends and I are closer than ever, a band of brothers if you will. You are truly missed and I love you."

Still, Garza continues to make an impact on his friends. "You taught me so much," wrote Brown, "and continued to even after you left us."

He also had a great sense of humor.

"Nick reliably contributed good laughs for all of us at Middlebury," wrote Wren Huston '11, in a note shared by Spears at the funeral.

Watroba echoed Huston in his comments, which appeared in Spears' address. "Everyone who knows Nick also knows his humor," wrote Watroba. "I have stories of him buying ski goggles off the Internet when we were all going to try skiing, and although they were only $30 goggles, he wore them around with the tag still on them, proud and haughty, and the tag dangled and read "1,000 euros" in black sharpie, written in his own handwriting."

Immediately upon matriculating at Middlebury, Garza continued being as active a student as he was at Albuquerque Academy. In high school, Garza captained the debate team and was a nationally known debater, interested in public policy.

At Middlebury, he hosted a weekly radio show on WRMC entitled "W.R.M. Sweet", participated in intramural hockey during the winter and continually engaged his friends in philosophical conversations.

Following the discovery, Nick's mother, Natalie Garza released a statement remembering her son.

"We will miss his thick black hair and easy laughter," she said. "Nothing in life has prepared us for such a loss. We hope to honor him in the simple and pure way that he lived his life. He was adored, deeply loved, and those who knew him were blessed with an extraordinary man."

Spears echoed the idea of finding good, even in times of great loss.

"If there is anything uplifting about grief, it is that the pain of loss can bring joyful memories of the person who is gone," he said.

The loss was the first of three deaths to rattle the College over a difficult summer. Pavlo Levkiv '11 and Professor of History and Russian Studies David Macey also passed away.

Garza is survived by his mother, father and brother.