On Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008, UW graduate Megan Kinsella was killed by a falling piece of ice as she and her boyfriend were setting ice climbing protection bolts on a mountainside near Mt. Rainier. Kinsella was struck in the chest and died from internal bleeding. Her boyfriend was knocked unconscious.

Kinsella graduated with honors from the UW in June of last year with a degree in the Comparative History of Ideas program. She had planned to attend the UW’s School of Medicine and had interviewed with the UW Medical Center in early December.

According to her family, she had hoped to specialize in family practice.

“She had a real interest in UW because there was an opportunity for her to work in a program that allowed her to specialize in family care,” said Kinsella’s brother, Ryan, a graduate student at the UW in the Evans School of Public Affairs.

“Megan was an exceptional person,” said Kathie Friedman, an associate professor in the Jackson School of International Studies.

Friedman had Kinsella in several classes throughout her career at the UW.

Friedman met Kinsella after Kinsella sent the professor an e-mail while studying abroad in Italy her sophomore year of college. According to Friedman, Kinsella had a keen interest in immigration practices and noticed a large refugee population living in Sienna, Italy during her stay there. Wanting to learn more, Kinsella took a job working with refugees in the orchards and decided to e-mail Friedman and ask if she could take a class Friedman offered about migrant populations once she returned to the UW.

“I remember thinking, ‘Who is this amazing undergrad who is contacting me? Of course she can take my class,’” Friedman said. “She had razor-sharp powers of observation … probably one of the most imaginative and visionary students I’ve ever had.”

Kinsella took fall quarter off while applying to medical school. During that time, she completed her EMT certification and backpacked the northern third of the Pacific Crest Trail.

“I thought I would know her for a very long time,” Friedman said. “[Her death] is a big loss for her family, for the community and for medicine. She’s a person who would have made a big difference.”

Kinsella’s memorial service will be held tomorrow at noon at St. Jude Church in Redmond.

Reach news editor Casey Smith at news@dailyuw.com.