Friends, family, teachers, teammates and more all came together to mourn the loss of Stanford soccer star Katie Meyer.
On Saturday, March 12, several hundred people attended the gifted athlete's memorial service, which was held on the soccer field of her alma mater Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park, Calif., per The Los Angeles Times. The service comes less than two weeks after the 22-year-old died by suicide in a campus residence on March 1.
"She came into this world a total spitfire of energy," her mother Gina Meyer recalled at the event, the newspaper reported. She described their relationship as "the purest mother-daughter love and joy" and also shared that her daughter would be "in absolute awe" at the amount of people who came to say their final goodbyes.
Calling himself "blessed to be her dad," Katie's father, Steve Meyer, reflected on playing soccer with his daughter as a child and read out one of the last text messages that he sent Katie after visiting her at school: "I had the best time seeing you. And just being with you. I hope you have an amazing day. I love you, dad."
The Los Angeles Times also quoted Paul Ratcliffe, head coach at Stanford University, as saying that Katie often led the rally cries at Stanford sports games and thanked her for "bringing so much joy into our lives."
And, per the outlet, her sister, Samantha, added, "I truly believe Kat has given me the job of knowing her and helping others heal and find peace." Katie is also survived by her sister, Siena.
In an interview with Today on March 4, Gina called the loss of their daughter a "parent's worst nightmare."
"We're struggling right now," she said at the time. "We are struggling to know what happened, and why it happened. We're just heartbroken, so heartbroken."
Her parents shared that they had both spoken with Katie just hours before her death on FaceTime, with Steve describing her demeanor as "just the usual jovial Katie."
Gina noted that her daughter—who was a senior International Relations major, Resident Assistant and captain of the women's soccer team—was "excited" but "had a lot on her plate," adding, "But she was happy. She was in great spirits."
They also shared that they believe their daughter could've been "triggered" by a recent email about facing disciplinary action from Stanford University after "defending a teammate on campus over an incident."
While they had yet to read the email, Gina stated that it "was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a 'trial' or some kind of something."
In a statement to E! News, Dee Mostofi, Assistant Vice President of External Communications at Stanford University shared that "we are not able to share information about confidential student disciplinary matters."
"Our entire community is devastated by Katie's death, and we share our deepest condolences with Katie's family and everyone who knew her at Stanford, across the country and around the world," the statement read. "Katie touched so many lives."
It continued, "We as a university community continue to grieve with Katie's family and cherish our memories of her."