UCLA student Liza Mederos, who had hoped one day to create a
foundation to help troubled youth, died Monday morning at the UCLA
hospital. She was 26.
Mederos, a fourth-year sociology student who was diagnosed with
aplastic anemia at age 12, had fought through a bone marrow
transplant at the start of fall 2003 and recently underwent
chemotherapy.
She recovered quickly after the transplant and was able to
register for classes for winter quarter, said Adrienne Brown, a
fourth-year sociology student and Mederos’ roommate.
“She even attended classes for a week,” she
said.
Brown said during the second week of the quarter, Mederos got
sick and had to be hospitalized.
Despite her condition, Brown was still bringing Mederos her
homework.
“She was still trying. … School was always her No.
1,” Brown said.
Brown explained that Mederos’ condition was not improving
and that she had to be moved to the intensive care unit.
Brown said Mederos’ family and doctors decided to take her
off life-supporting machines this past weekend.
“She was suffering,” she said.
Mederos was working toward a Chicana/o studies minor and was
preparing for the Law School Admissions Test.
Outside academics, Mederos was involved in Project BRITE ““
Bruins Reforming Incarceration Through Education ““ an
organization that works toward preventing the repeated arrests of
youth through education and mentorship.
Mederos was interested in working with juvenile offenders, and
her senior thesis was going to be focused on that subject, Brown
said.
Another friend of Mederos and a fellow fourth-year sociology
student, Shawn Collins, talked about the role of helping people in
Mederos’ life.
Collins said the dedication Mederos showed to help youth has
inspired him to get involved.
Mederos was a member of the Mortar Board National Senior Honor
Society and also volunteered with the Student Transfer Outreach and
Mentor Program, where UCLA transfer students provide outreach to
community colleges.
Friends say aside from her busy schedule, Mederos made time to
be around her friends and help them when they needed it.
She loved hanging out with friends and family and shopping, said
Nicole Ramos, a friend of Mederos and a fourth-year psychobiology
student.
“She was very kind and always looked after her
friends,” Ramos added.
Mederos, who was half Cuban, always wanted to visit Cuba.
“She lived life to the fullest,” Brown said.
A memorial service will be held Thursday at 8 p.m. at the
Bruin Bear.