SFU Community Honors Lives of Those Lost

A candlelight vigil was held on the mall Sept. 25 to celebrate and honor the lives of three students who died earlier this year: Nick Cumer, Liv Juliana and Bryan Smeltzer.

Nick was an Exercise Physiology/Cancer Care student and former graduate assistant for the marching band. He was killed in the Dayton, Ohio, shooting on Aug. 4. He died while shielding others from the shooter.

Rylie Rusnica, a 2019 graduate of SFU, was one of Nick’s closest friends.

“If you were to compile all of the positive traits a person could possibly have, you would find Nicholas Cumer seemed to have all of them,” said Rusnica. 

“He would come home drained if a patient had a bad day because he was kind and compassionate and truly cared.”

Alivia “Liv” Juliana was a rising sophomore and a beloved member of the Red Flash women’s golf team. She died on May 15.

Bryan Smeltzer, a 2019 graduate of SFU, died on May 29. He was also involved with the Red Flash band as a tuba player.

“Bryan was very outgoing, funny and a good musician,” said Director of Bands Dan Atwood.

The SFU community will never forget these three members of our Red Flash family.