Friends remember how Frankl touched their lives

When those close to Miriam Frankl think about the friend they lost, they remember her smile.

"She had the greatest smile," said Naomi Sell, a senior and friend of Frankl. "You could tell she was always having a good time and just enjoyed life."

On Wednesday morning, Sell and 30 other members of the Alpha Phi sorority attended services for Frankl at Beth Emet, The Free Synagogue, in Evanston, Il.

"The family was awestruck at the showing of support they had for Miriam," said Coordinator of Greek Life Rob Turning, who also attended the service with many other members of the Hopkins community.

Turning estimated that around 1,000 people attended service at the synagogue, many of them Hopkins affiliates.

Speakers at the service included Frankl's roommate and her big sister from her Alpha Phi family, as well as friends from high school.

Back at Hopkins, the community continues to mourn.

"We're all hurting," Paulo Farqui, a recent Hopkins graduate who is working towards a master's degree at Bloomberg, said.

Farqui knew Frankl through her boyfriend - the two are both members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the All-Nighters a capella group.

"She had a very unique personality. She was very fun loving and was always up for a good time," he said.

"It's painful, knowing that someone so wonderful could be taken so senselessly and so carelessly," Emily Calderone, assistant director of the Career Center where Frankl was employed, said.

On the first day back at work since Frankl's death, Calderone had to enter the small office the two had shared for more than a year.

"Monday was a really difficult day," Calderone said. "Miriam was probably the best student employee I've ever had the opportunity to work with. She was dedicated, and so good at her job."

When Frankl was not busy working on compiling the weekly campus newsletters or preparing for information sessions, she and Calderone would talk about their shared love of Spain.

Calderone had taken her honeymoon in the same region of Spain where Frankl had studied abroad over the summer. Frankl was a double major in Spanish and Cellular and Molecular Biology.

"Most days we would talk longingly about Spain and wanting to be back there," Calderone said.

They talked about missing the delicious food and laid-back culture, and debated endlessly about the ethics of bullfighting - Frankl was opposed to it.

Friends describe Frankl as a dedicated student. Passion for research and learning ran in the family.

Both Frankl's grandmother and aunt are professors and researchers at Hopkins.Her grandmother is Professor Emerita Pearl German of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Frankl's aunt is Professor Rebecca German of the School of Medicine.

"It was a special privilege for us to have had three generations of women from this distinguished family learning, teaching, and doing research at Johns Hopkins," Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell wrote in an e-mail broadcast to the University on Monday.

Frankl was involved in ALS research at the Department of Neurology. "She was the type of girl that would work her butt off in C-Level and get excited about her research," said Sell, who worked in the lab with Frankl.

"She was super smart, but never boastful about all the awesome things she was doing," Calderone said.

But what many admired about Frankl was her ability to balance a heavy workload with social activities.

Frankl worked as a staff member for the MSE Symposium and had a deep dedication to the Alpha Phi sorority.

"She knew [school work] was important but would be super pumped for the date party the next night," Sell said. "She had a nice balance and would put things in the proper perspective."

"Miriam was so much fun to be around," Calderone said. "She had a great sense of humor."

Frankl balanced humor with a genuine concern for others.

During one of their many conversations, Calderone casually mentioned to Frankl that she would be running a race in a few weeks.

Though the topic never came up again, Frankl remembered and congratulated Calderone the day after the big race.

"She was really proud I had completed it, even though it had no bearing on her life at all," Calderone said.

The Greek community has been particularly hard hit by the loss.

"She has made a huge impact on everyone," Farqui said. "It was amazing to see just based on the number of people at the hospital and the number of people extremely affected showed she left a big mark at this school and in the community."

"I think she's had a great impact on everyone, especially in Alpha Phi," Sell said.

The Greek community at Hopkins has come together in this time of tragedy, with signs of solidarity stretching across chapter lines.

The community "does a terrific job of circling the wagons and supporting one another," Turning said.

Hopkins is now preparing to hold a memorial service of its own.

A date for the service has not yet been set. "It depends when the family feels comfortable traveling to Baltimore," Turning said.

Frankl is survived by her parents and two younger brothers.

- Additional reporting by Eric Goodman