Following the death of junior Aalok Modi last week, the Duke community is coming together to remember the 21-year-old chemistry major from Pickerington, Ohio.
A candlelight vigil was held in front of the Chapel Friday by Diya, Duke's South Asian student association. Approximately 250 to 300 people attended the ceremony, said junior Ravi Kankotia.
A bus with about 25 to 30 of Modi's close friends left Sunday for Modi's funeral today in Powell, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
Modi died Thursday night after collapsing during an intramural basketball game in Wilson Recreation Center. He was pronounced dead in the Duke University Hospital emergency room about an hour after he collapsed.
Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, said he did not know the cause of death and that information is released only to the family.
Friends described Modi as hard-working, thoughtful and an overall "great guy."
"The best two words to describe him were 'eternal cheer,'" junior Hari Shankar said. "He was always cheerful and he was humble down to the last minute."
Kankotia said Modi often planned events for their group of friends and was always trying to be a better friend to others.
"He was always upbeat, always happy, always smiling and ready to give a helping hand whenever anyone needed one," Kankotia said. "He would always send out weekly e-mails, he would plan the events for our group and... in a way he was the center of our group."
Modi was actively involved in the Global Health Forum and wanted to be a doctor, Kankotia said. He added that Modi had wanted to go to India this summer to do service work.
Junior Jason Pate said Modi was passionate about global health and had hoped to see Duke's global health groups unified under the Global Health Forum.
"He was always either working on global health stuff, studying or playing basketball," said Pate, a co-director with Modi on the Global Health Student Action Committee. "There was a love and a passion that he shared with people at this school.... Duke is a better place because Aalok was here-he definitely left it a little better than he found it."
Modi's family has asked for donations to Doctors Without Borders in lieu of flowers, according to a Facebook group in memory of Modi.
"He was just a very kind and warm-hearted person, and he was great to work with on the [Global Health] Forum," said sophomore Frances Aunon, a co-director with Modi on the Global Health Student Action Committee. "He really just believed in what he was doing and all that was real and very meaningful to him."
The University has counselors from Counseling and Psychological Services available and will provide support for the Modi family, Moneta said.
Modi is survived by his father, mother and brother, a freshman at The Ohio State University, said Kankotia.
"He was amazing-he was so helpful and calm and he was a brother," senior Junaid Raja said. "There were a few times I would be stressed out about a few things and I knew I could always talk with him."
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