Jenna Druck

Semester-at-Sea
India
March 27, 1996

Jenna Druck embraced life with every fiber of her being. She was filled with endless love, energy and enthusiasm, and it showed in her accomplishments, relationships, vision, values, competitive spirit, courage and compassion.

Selected “San Diego’s Young Woman Entrepreneur” at age 9, speaking publicly for the Young Presidents Organization at 14, elected Senior ASB V.P. at Torrey Pines HS, voted a Presidents Leadership Institute Scholar and President of Pi Beta Phi sorority at CU Boulder, Jenna was a natural born leader.  Above all else, she was a true friend, sister, daughter, granddaughter, cousin and lover of life.  Her sense of social justice, wisdom and fierce determination from an early age were inspiring and far-reaching. She encouraged others to live with “strength of heart,” a combination of compassion and integrity – and embodied those qualities throughout her life.

Jenna’s life ended tragically and abruptly at age 21 when she was killed in a bus accident while studying abroad with Semester-at-Sea in India. Her father, Dr. Ken Druck, founded The Jenna Druck Center to honor her life and spirit. The Center’s two award-winning programs, Families Helping Families and Spirit of Leadership have been a lifeline for over 7,500 bereaved families and 18,000 diverse young women who aspire to be leaders in their own lives and communities.

Jenna is the Jenna Druck Center’s CAO (Chief Angelic Officer).  Her undying love continues to impact the lives of countless young women and bereaved families. She lives on in those whose hearts she touched.

Sheryl Hill and ClearCause are doing everything in their power to keep kids safe while studying and traveling abroad.  I thank them from the bottom of my heart for honoring those of us whose children have died abroad and preventing others from needlessly having to endure the worst loss through their noble work.


Written by Dr. Ken Druck, Jenna's father.

Morgan Boisson

Born in Montpellier, France, Morgan had been on three continents before he was three weeks old: North America where his maternal grandparents lived, Africa where his paternal grandparents lived and Europe where his immediate family lived. At seven, Morgan moved to the U.S. with his parents and two younger sisters. Morgan had an unrivaled love of life. He excelled at anything he tried. He began studying Judo when he was four, earning his black belt in Tae Kwan Do at the age of 11. He was active in track (discuss and shot put) and football. As a senior in high school, Morgan was an integral defensive lineman on the Cactus Shadow football team. Morgan was one of two recipients of the Marine Corps Distinguished Scholar Athlete Award for Cactus Shadows. After graduating from high school, Morgan attended college at the University of Arizona, where he joined the cheerleading squad. Bilingual in English and French, he decided to major in East Asian Studies/Chinese after spending his sophomore year in Nanjing, China. While Morgan was in China, he participated in pre-Olympic games through his university where he placed first in shot put out of students from thirty other participating schools.

The summer before he died, Morgan spent six weeks studying and traveling in France with a college exchange program. He returned to China that fall to study again in Nanjing through the University of Arizona. His group planned a trip to Tibet and Morgan was thrilled to participate. While ascending to 19,000 feet to reach a base camp at Mt. Everest, Morgan suffered from severe altitude sickness. With no medical attention and no way to get him down the mountain quickly, he passed away on October 20^th, 2009.

Morgan's death was senseless and avoidable.  If there had been better safeguards in place for these students studying abroad, Morgan would never have died.  It is wonderful that the ClearCause Foundation serves as an advocate for our children while they are far from home.

Morgan is missed by all of his friends and family, especially by his two younger sisters who miss his gentle teasing and kind good nature. He was the protector of the weak and the life of every social event. Morgan was everyone's friend. His amazing bear hugs gave him the nickname “Big Bear”. He hugs me from the inside whenever I feel down. He had a positive impact on everyone he ever met. His friends and family were blessed by every moment they had with him. Thank you, Morgan, for being such a wonderful son.

Elizabeth Boisson

Andrew Pochter

Kenyon College
AMIDEST
Alexandria, Egypt
June 28, 2013

Andrew Pochter, a 21-year-old American student from Kenyon College in Gamier, Ohio, was killed during a street protest in Alexandria, Egypt on June 28, 2013. Andrew was stabbed in the chest in a political protest over the country’s president, Mohamed Morsi. He was pronounced dead at a military hospital shortly after, the New York Times article reported.

Andrew left for Egypt on May 28, 2013 and planned to stay there for three months. He was an intern at AMIDEST, an American non-profit organization working in international education, training and development activities in the Middle East and North Africa. “The AMIDEAST internship is not a Kenyon program,” Kenyon’s website reported.

The same day that Andrew died, the United States Department of State put up a warning Friday on their website. The warning told U.S. citizens traveling to or living in Egypt to “defer non-essential travel to Egypt at this time due to the continuing possibility of political and social unrest.” The warning also “strongly urges U.S. citizens to avoid all demonstrations in Egypt, as even peaceful ones can quickly become violent, and a foreigner could become a target of harassment or worse.”

Andrew was living in an Egyptian home and teaching English to Egyptian children. Other cultures and languages fascinated him. Andrew was planning on studying in Jordan after his time in Egypt to become fluent in Arabic and to gain a better understanding of the political and religious dynamics of the Middle East.

“As we understand it, he was witnessing a protest as a bystander and was stabbed by a protester. He went to Egypt because he cared profoundly about the Middle East and he planned to live and work there in the pursuit of peace and understanding,” the family said in a statement. “Andrew was a wonderful young man looking for new experiences in the world and finding ways to share his talents while he learned.”

A religious studies major, Andrew was co-manager of Hillel House and was a member of the Middle East Students Association, according to the Kenyon College’s tribute to Andrew on their website. He was also the philanthropy chair for his fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi.

“He was one of the rare kids who lived what he believed,” said Marc Bragin, Hillel director and Jewish chaplain at Kenyon. “His belief was that everyone should be included, everyone had a voice and no one should be left out because what they think is different than what others think.”

Kenyon President S. Georgia Nugent said in a statement, “It is always a tragedy for a young person to lose his or her life prematurely. Andrew’s death is especially troubling, resulting as it did from the political violence that plagues our world today. As I step down from the presidency of the College tomorrow, I can only hope that Andrew’s loss will lead members of the Kenyon community to re-dedicate themselves to seeking and fostering peace in whatever ways they can.”

Sheryl Hill, founder of ClearCause, remarked on ABC News' video reporting Andrew's death. She said, "Students don't need to be placed in the midst of study abroad opportunities and civil unrest. There are more prudent methods to shape peace. Naive study abroad program directors should put their kids out front first."