Faculty, staff and students at the SOJ are mourning the loss of journalism junior Emily Spickler. Nineteen-year-old Spickler, of Shepherdstown, W.Va., was found dead in her dormitory Monday at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, Australia, where she was preparing to begin a one-year study abroad program. An autopsy has revealed that Spickler died of natural causes.
Spickler’s professors at the SOJ described her as a pleasant student and a hard worker. She was a recipient of the 2011 SOJ Student Enhancement Scholarship and had just finished an internship at LA Magazine in Los Angeles, Ca.
A funeral tribute and celebration of Emily’s life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011, at Covenant Baptist Church, 7485 Shepherdstown Pike, Shepherdstown, W.Va.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Berkeley County Humane Society, 554 Charles Town Road, Martinsburg, WV 25405-5506.
Condolences to the family may be expressed at her obituary at www.eackles-spencerfuneralhome.com.