Not a dry eye was on the Lakeside Patio Thursday night, as the University of Miami community came together to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of a resident assistant, a sister and a friend.
Jordan Schuman was heavily involved in campus activities, including the student-run TV channel, UMTV, and the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA). At 22, she went on to become a multimedia reporter for WPDE in South Carolina, before her untimely passing in a car accident in December 2015.
Robyn Fisher, assistant director of Hillel, opened the ceremony with a few words, and shared memories of her trips to Israel and Buenos Aires with Jordan and reminded everybody of the “precariousness of life.”
“It’s hard to believe we are here to remember somebody who was just here with us,” Fisher said.
Michelle Maldonado, faculty master in Hecht residential college where Jordan was a resident assistant, spoke of Schuman as family, and described how they had met many years before, and grown extremely close.
“I loved her like a little sister, and she was like a big sister to my kids,” Maldonado said.
Jordan’s sorority sisters handed out letters for the community to write to Jordan’s parents, and sang a song after a moment of silence.
“Jordan radiated passion for her work, her family, her friends, and her sisters,” said Megan Seff of ZTA. “She will be dearly missed by all who were lucky enough to have her in their lives, no matter for how short or long of a time.”