CSU student Savannah McNealy remembered at vigil for how she touched so many lives

Posted: Oct 20, 2017 / 10:01 PM MDT

Updated: Oct 20, 2017 / 10:05 PM MDT

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Dozens of family and friends were on campus at Colorado State University for a vigil to honor Savannah McNealy. They didn’t talk about the details surrounding her death early Thursday. Friday was all about memories and the good times. They celebrated who this young woman was.

“I feel broken, I’m in shock, every single emotion that is negative that you could I am feeling,” McNealy’s best friend, Taylar Saul said. “She was like my soul mate, my best friend, my roommate.”

“I’m not going to lie it’s really hard right now,” one of McNealy’s coworkers, Lauren Kroll said.

Savannah McNealy is now gone. The 22-year-old was taken by bullets. How she died, is not who she was.

“She’s everything to me,” Saul said.

McNealy was someone’s friend. Saul described her as incredible and amazing. McNealy was a daughter, sister, and a senior at Colorado State University.

“She was a big part of our community,” Kroll said. “She was super bright, super bubbly, upbeat.”

Savannah was regarded as being beautiful, vibrant, caring and generous. She helped youth through the Young Life Organization in Douglas County and continued to reach out to those in need at CSU.

From what friends say, she was a pretty awesome artist too.

McNealy interned under Tom Milligan, the school’s communications manager.

“What if we paint the street? You can’t paint the street,” Tom Milligan recalled an idea she had.

She did paint that street and helped design what’s now called, the Ram Walk. That’s where Friday’s vigil was held.

“This street is hers. This is her remembrance,” Kroll said.

The vigil didn’t heal everyone’s wounds, but some say it helped just a little.

“I still feel pretty awful, but I felt a little better,” Milligan said.

“I already feel a little bit alleviated walking away,” Saul said.

Savannah was loved, and as life continues on, her family and friends will find a new normal.

A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held on Monday. Donations to the Young Life organization can be made in Savannah McNealy’s name here.

More: CSU community remembers Savannah McNealy