In Memory of AMANDA K. BUTKOVICH

by Keely Abbott & Dana Peli

On Friday, April 15, 2005 Amanda K. Butkovich, a second-year student at SAIC was killed in a severe car accident. When something like this happens we begin to question, "How is it that someone so beautiful could be taken so young?" Her constant smiles and laughter, her carefree spirit, and the contagious energy she gave off every day are just some of Amanda's gifts to us that were too good to be true. We never expected to give her up, and sometimes the things we least expect can really catch us off guard. But if she has taught us anything, it would be not to cry, for every memory that we have of Amanda is of her smiling. As I've always said, "Amanda laughs more than she breathes." And even if it was only for a short twenty years, that doesn't sound like a bad way to live at all. Let us keep her family in our prayers and remember to cherish those we love every day as though it was their last.

May 2005