As Oceanography ends, and the class packs their bags, Evan notices a familiar face sitting behind him. He stands and turns to face the freshman, “Hey, I know you! Are you on student government?”
“Yes,” the freshman replies.
Evan does not hesitate a moment, “If you ever need anything, I’m here for you.”
Clad in a Darth Vader onesie from Target, Evan marches along-side fellow storm trooper and comrade Daniel Lacey in the chill Halloween air. They love Star Wars so much so that they’ve already bought their movie tickets for the new installment of the series, The Force Awakens. Trick-or-treating and stopping by friends’ houses, they spend this October 31 not only as President and Senate Director of ASCLUG but as best friends.
Standing around the dim glow of candles, students gather to remember the life of first year law student and former ASCLUG President Evan Carthen. Some write memories and thank-you’s to Evan while others simply stand and remember how he impacted their life.
“He was faithful in everything he did—whether that was government, whether that was academics,” said current ASCLUG President Lacey. “When he committed to something, he committed full-heartedly to it.”
Carthen carried that mentality with him everywhere he went. Whether it was taking a morning jog around campus just to simply say hello to fellow classmates, or setting aside 300 pages of reading to help a friend in need, Carthen truly cared for and loved others.
“He really showed me how to be loyal to people,” Lacey said, “to always be there for someone. Sometimes you have to pause, and you have to sit down and just listen. He kept challenging me last year as the Senate Director, ‘don’t just get to know that person and their name, but get to know them as a real person. Hear their story.’”
From family to faith, God to gummy bears, “The Godfather” to the students of Cal Lutheran, Carthen was a man of many passions. All these passions melted together to create the ASCLUG President so many came to know.
“He has not just impacted my life,” Lacey said, “but he has impacted every life here at Cal Lutheran in some way.”