Alexis McCoy is a freshman at Towson University majoring in psychology. She currently lives in Harford County, Maryland with her parents and her little sister. When she was a freshman in high school in 2010, she lost someone very close to her. Her older brother Devonte was at basketball practice at Harford Community College when he collapsed and later passed away from cardiac arrhythmia. It has been four years since he passed away and there has not been a day where Alexis has not thought about her brother.
When your brother passed away, how did this affect you as a 14 year old?
I think it was traumatizing because he was completely healthy and nobody knew anything was wrong. It was shocking to lose somebody you had no idea had a problem.
Now that it has been four years, how has this affected you as a young adult?
Now it is a source of motivation since he didn’t really get to start college himself. It’s like I’m doing it for him. If he was still here he could vicariously live through me. I make it a priority to do well because I want to make him proud of me.
How has this affected your values?
It makes me value my family and relationships more because when you lose somebody it makes you naturally grow closer to those that you have. I’m really grateful for everyone I still have I my life and I am grateful for my brother because he has brought that positive in my life. Now I really appreciate my family and friends.
Can you describe Devonte as a brother?
Very protective and athletic and funny. Like a real comedian — he was just so funny! He would even make me laugh at myself because of his jokes. He inspired me to be a better student and he used to play the trumpet so I started to play the clarinet because of him. I wanted to be like him. He pushed me to be the best me I could be.
We think Alexis is a perfect candidate for a Campus Celebrity and that she should be kept in mind when we get overwhelmed during finals this semester. It’s always helpful to step back from ourselves and look at the bigger picture — there are people who have been through far worse than we have who use their hard times to keep pushing through, and that’s something we should all try to do.