Pioneer

Issue date: 1/28/10 Section: Campus

Media Credit: Jon Grote/Courtesy Photo Nadia Willett performs a surveying exercise. Willett, who died Jan. 11, was enrolled in Pierce's construction management program.

Pierce student Nadia Willett died on Jan. 11. The 31-year-old contracted a staph infection and died in the hospital shortly after.

Willett earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington and worked for the City of Tacoma's sidewalk department while she continued her education at Pierce.

"She was attractive and down to earth," classmate Steve Brown said. "She used to come into class every day with a Subway sandwich. So we had a 5-foot-long sub in class in her honor."

According to an obituary on The News Tribune's Web site, Willett's hobbies included snowboarding, boating, camping, spending time with family and cheering for the Huskies, Seahawks and Mariners.

"She loved her sports," said Angelina Jackson, personal trainer and owner of Positive Results in Lakewood.

Jackson said she met Willett at the age of 9 and the two grew up together.

"We had fun memories of fishing on Spanaway Lake," she said.

Willett had a welcoming and warm personality, Jackson said.

"She had a nice core group of friends, and the majority of them knew each other since junior high," she said. "She was a loving person, really good at bringing the girls together and keeping everyone connected."

Willett is survived by her boyfriend of 13 years, Orrin Larsen, mother Karin Willett, stepfather Ken Levine, stepsister Sara Levine and stepbrothers Joshua and Michael Levine.



Instructor's letter in memory of student

Nadia's death was sudden and had quite an effect on her classmates in the Construction Management program. They were starting to think about graduation; after spending nearly two years with each other in night classes, many friendships were developed. This cohort had many similar interests and common career objectives.
Nadia was one of the kindest persons you could ever meet. If you were speaking with her, she gave you her full attention - not just a great listener, but she was empathetic and compassionate. She was respectful at all times and never tried to make herself look better than someone else.
She was bright, witty and real. She was a dedicated student and classmate. Rarely did she miss a class, and when she had to, she made certain to make arrangements. She produced exemplary work and rarely did she miss an assignment. As a classmate, she saw opportunities to make her classes and degree program better. She shared opinions on how we could better the program and the classes in it. During Winter Quarter 2009, our Materials and Methods and Construction Documents classes went on many field trips related to construction. She always took the time to write a thank-you note to the people that hosted our class, and she saw an opportunity to share her resources with her classes.
She made arrangements for us to attend a very worthwhile, industry-related conference that was being sponsored by her employer. The students who were able to attend were very grateful; likewise, I saw a student going beyond expectations for all the right reasons. Additionally, her significant other is a surveyor, and she saw an opportunity to coordinate a field activity at the Puyallup campus. We now had the chance to experience what it was really like to perform construction site layout and other surveying tasks.
I know her contributions meant a great deal to all of us at the time; but now, looking back, it means ever more. Nadia left us a wonderful example of what a student and a person can be. I am honored to have witnessed this example.
Other faculty members in the Construction Management program have made similar observations. I am grateful for Mike Davis and the way he gracefully handled this tragic news with her classmates. They all had the chance to share a message in the card he provided, and he provided an opportunity for students to share their grief during a class discussion.
She impacted many people; her memorial was standing room only in all three rooms - scattered among these crowds were her classmates and instructors.

- Jon Grote, Pierce College Construction Management program coordinator and instructor

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