Laughter outweighed tears Wednesday as students, faculty,
administrators and family members remembered Cynthia Rabuy, who
died last week in a traffic collision at the age of 23.
Two hundred people packed the Collins Room at the James West
Alumni Center, where they held a memorial for the highly-involved
student leader and revered campus presence. Rabuy’s immediate
family was in attendance, many of them having traveled from
northern California.
People who worked and interacted with Rabuy throughout her life
took turns sharing stories and explaining how she influenced and
affected their lives.
“She always talked about how lucky she was with all the
people that cared about her,” said Abby Camaya, a recent UCLA
alumna and Rabuy’s best friend. “But we were all the
lucky ones.”
Rabuy was killed on April 2 when her car was struck by another
vehicle on the southbound 405 Freeway just before midnight. She had
been driving home to Culver City, where she resided with her sister
Marlo and her brother-in-law Andrew Beall.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Rabuy’s car
survived, and was found to be intoxicated by the California Highway
Patrol. This driver was booked for vehicular manslaughter and an
investigation is currently under way.
But even with the tragedy of the incident still fresh in
people’s minds, the memorial’s tone was geared more
toward a celebration of life than mourning ““Â attendees
were asked to dress in white rather than black, and the event was
filled with poignant and often humorous anecdotes describing how
various people met and got to know Rabuy.
Matt Gruezo, a second-year undeclared student, had Rabuy as a
mentor for Samahang Pilipino Education and Retention. He described
her as being friendly and welcoming to alleviate his lack of
familiarity with the program, which provides counseling and
tutoring for students in the Pilipino community at UCLA.
“She wasn’t shy; she was the perfect mentor,”
Gruezo said. “She still makes me want to be a better
person.”
SPEAR counselor was just one of the many hats Rabuy put on
during her five years at UCLA. Among her many positions, she was
the financial supports commissioner for the Undergraduate Students
Association Council, chairwoman and committee leader for the
Associated Students of UCLA board of directors, and a Unicamp
counselor who went by the moniker of “Snoopy.”
She was also heavily involved in Samahang Pilipino ““ she
was practicing dances for the group’s Pilipino Culture Night
just before she died.
Samahang President Emerson Lego said Rabuy showed genuine
concern for students’ welfare and prompted the group’s
leaders to improve themselves.
“She cared for the students she counseled; she challenged
us to look beyond the bureaucracy we created for ourselves,”
he said.
“She formed a plethora of bonds and made (members) feel
like they were at home,” he added.
Carla, Rabuy’s sister, shared an anecdote describing how
Rabuy overcame a difficult transition to UCLA from her Fremont,
Calif. home.
“She didn’t let that stop her,” she said.
“Even though she was scared, she did things anyway.
That’s a testament to her courage and strength.”
Another of Rabuy’s sisters, Veronica, outlined some of
what she called Cindy’s quirks that made her distinct from
everyone else. These included a love for ESPN SportsCenter, baking
cookies and a fascination with all sorts of pens.
The memorial also included musical interludes ““ Camaya
performed an acoustic guitar piece she said was inspired by Rabuy
and SPEAR administrative assistant Adeste Supin sang a capella.
Rabuy’s parents, Carlos and Aurora, received several
posthumous awards on her behalf. These included the UCLA
Chancellor’s Service Award, UCLA Women for Change Award and
Rabuy’s diploma ““ a Bachelor of Arts degree with a
major in English and minors in education studies and public
policy.
In addition, the Community Programs Office re-titled its
internal honor in her name, so that it now reads as the Cynthia E.
Rabuy Empowerment Award.
Carlos Rabuy said he felt overwhelmed by the amount of support
conveyed by those who attended the memorial for his daughter.
“It’s just too much,” he said. “But when
I learned of what she’s doing here, I’m not really
surprised. They really showed a lot of love for her.”