2010s
Svitlana O. Gura ’16
Svitlana O. Gura ’16, a community activist and copy editor, was born on Sept. 5, 1994, a daughter of Lyudmyla and Alex Gura. She graduated from Wilde Lake High School in Ellicott City, Md., before attending Hamilton.
Known as “Lana,” Gura majored in government and minored in creative writing. She was active on the Hill, participating in Model UN, Adirondack Adventure and Red Weather, where she served as poetry editor. She also contributed her time as a COOP service intern with For the Good, Inc.?, a community service nonprofit agency in Utica, where she helped coordinate the Study Buddy tutoring program on campus and contributed to the group’s newspaper, The Utica Phoenix.
“Lana was an intense and passionate student of the world with an insightful grasp on culture and the ability to translate that understanding into the written word,” said Cassandra Harris-Lockwood K’74, president and CEO of For the Good.
In announcing Gura’s death to the community, then Dean of Students Nancy Thompson noted that Gura was “a passionate writer with a creative mind.” Thompson added that Prof. Benjamin Widiss taught Gura in several classes and recounted that she was “a singular presence in the classroom, often communicating volumes without opening her mouth — all kinds of thinking legible in her face and her posture and the intense energy of attention she radiated…usually changing the debate. I loved her comments, and I think her classmates did, too.”
Gura, who had an interest in journalism, had recently started work as a copy editor for the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “In her short time on the Observer-Dispatch copy desk, Lana proved to be a fast learner who was enthusiastic about her job — a feeling that was contagious. She quickly became a part of the group and the newsroom as a whole, an acclimation that typically takes months,” said executive editor Ron Johns. “Her personality and skill set definitely are missed.”
Svitlana O. Gura died unexpectedly on Jan. 11, 2017, at home in Utica at the age of 22. She is survived by her parents and one sister.
Annalise Claire Frederiksen Curtis ’18
Annalise Claire Frederiksen Curtis ’18, a government major who was active in a variety of campus activities, was born on June 7, 1996, in Burbank, Calif., the daughter of Karen Frederiksen and Jeffrey Curtis.
Known for her empathy, dedication and free spirit, Curtis was spending the spring in Washington, D.C., with Hamilton’s Semester in Washington Program when she died. She was active in a variety of volunteer activities on the Hill and served the community as a student EMT. She worked on the Community Farm, organized the Acoustic Coffeehouse Series for the Campus Activities Board, tutored with Project SHINE and worked with the Prison Writing Archive, according to an article that appeared in The Spectator.
Curtis was also politically active, volunteering on the Bernie Sanders campaign and interning at Emily’s List, a progressive political action committee dedicated to diversity, inclusion and electing prochoice women to the Democratic Party leadership. She was set to begin a summer research project studying contemporary utopian communities in the United States, for which she had received an Emerson Grant.
“Nothing can prepare us for the shock and heartbreak we feel when a member of our community dies so suddenly,” President David Wippman said in a statement to the College community. “The pain is felt even more acutely in this case since Annalise spent much of her time at Hamilton helping others.”
In the student newspaper article, Professor of International Affairs Alan Cafruny, who directed the DC program this spring, remembered Curtis as “an outstanding student, intellectually curious, socially and politically engaged, generous and warm.”
Although a memorial service will be held on campus in the fall when classes resume, an informal gathering took place in the Chapel the evening news of Curtis’ death was announced. Students, professors and other friends came together to support one another, sharing favorite memories and celebrating a special life.
Annalise C. F. Curtis died on April 24, 2017, in Washington, D.C. She was 20 years old. Survivors include her parents.
