To her friends and peers, Lindsay Rawot embodied courage, enthusiasm and optimism.
Rawot, Pratt ’09, passed away Sunday at the age of 23 after a two-year battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She was diagnosed with the cancer in November 2008, during her senior year.
Rawot, a native of Bentleyville, Ohio, graduated with a degree in civil and environmental engineering as a General Motors Scholar and member of the Pratt Research Fellowship Program.
“She was a devoted friend, an intelligent engineer and a true connoisseur with regards to living life to the fullest,” Mollie Oudenhoven, Pratt ’09 and friend of Rawot, wrote in an e-mail. “She will be sorely missed. A huge void now remains within both the Pratt community and the greater Duke community as well.”
According to Lauren Wessel, Pratt ’09, Rawot was extremely gifted in her engineering studies. While at Duke, Rawot designed and began a program that “utilized the power of real-world data... in conjunction with wet-lab learning” to form an online laboratory meant to engage students in engineering, environmental science, chemistry, biology and technology, Wessell explained. Rawot also earned the Eric I. Pas Award, which recognizes civil engineering seniors who have conducted the “most outstanding” independent study projects.
Apart from academics, Rawot was active both on and off campus through social activities and volunteer work. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority as well as a volunteer for the Emily K Center and Habitat for Humanity. She also studied abroad at the University of Queensland in Australia Fall 2007.
Emily Roesing, Trinity ’09 and Rawot’s four-year roommate and sorority sister, wrote in an e-mail that Rawot had a unique relationship with members of her sorority because she went through recruitment as a sophomore.
“She was thrilled to join as a sophomore and felt especially dedicated to her mostly-freshmen pledge class,” Roesing said. “In turn, her characteristic enthusiasm and appetite for fun left an indelible mark on the chapter and the members who knew her.”
During the spring of her senior year, Rawot and close friend Amanda Zwilling, Trinity ’09, co-hosted an event for the I’m Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation in order to raise money for the organization and spread awareness about lymphoma.
“Lindsay is a constant source of inspiration and strength not only for her family and friends, but for all those whose paths she crossed,” Zwilling said. “[We] rallied hundreds of family members and friends, traveling from all over the country to support her efforts and celebrate her continued survivorship. Lindsay’s passion, optimism, strength, and perseverance will forever be with everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her.”
Rawot returned to Durham after graduation in September 2009 to receive a stem-cell transplant from the Duke University Medical Center. While back in the city, some of Rawot’s friends and former classmates helped organized an event on campus to demonstrate support for her illness. Jen Zwilling, a junior and Amanda’s sister, organized the DKMS Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive March 22, 2010 in honor of Rawot.
Rawot’s funeral will take place March 4 in Cleveland, Ohio after a visitation ceremony March 3. Many of her civil engineering classmates have contributed a combined $1,000 to the I’m Too Young For This! organization in her honor.
“The vivacity with which Lindsay lived often made me think that she lived too much and too deeply too quickly,” Wessell said. “While I know that this is not true, I would give anything to have her by my side for just a second longer.”
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