Kenyon College will hold a campus-wide memorial and remembrance of the life of Andrew Pochter '15 on Sunday, November 10, at 4 p.m. at the Great Hall in Peirce Hall. In making the announcement, Dean of Students Hank Toutain noted, "As a way of gathering together as a campus community to honor Andrew, we invite all at Kenyon to an inter-religious memorial service at which Andrew's life will be celebrated and remembered by the Pochter family and friends."
Andrew, who would have begun his junior year at Kenyon this fall, was killed in mob violence in Alexandria, Egypt, in June while participating in a summer program to continue his studies in the Middle East. His family, mentors, and friends described him as a fun-loving, active student of the world with a facility for foreign languages. Andrew was a religious studies major, co-manager of Hillel House, where he had lived during his sophomore year, and a member of the Middle East Student Association (MESA).
The Pochter family and friends have established a fund at Kenyon to provide support for students who, like Andrew, plan to study and promote international understanding through a summer internship or undergraduate study experience abroad in Middle Eastern nations. The fund will be expended for current internships or established to provide ongoing endowment support, at the direction of the family. Those who wish to contribute to the Andrew Driscoll Pochter '15 Memorial International Studies Fund may do so online at gift.kenyon.edu (choose the Andrew Driscoll Pochter Fund in the designations list when completing the gift form). Alternately, contributions, made payable to Kenyon College, may also be sent to the Andrew Driscoll Pochter Fund, c/o Sarah Kahrl, VP of College Relations, Kenyon College, College Relations Center, Gambier, OH 43022. A full description of the fund and its purposes are listed below.
Established in 2013 in loving memory of Andrew Driscoll Pochter, Class of 2015, by his parents, Elizabeth and Theodore Pochter, with additional contributions from friends, relatives, students, parents, alumni, and other caring individuals. The fund provides support to one or more deserving students, regardless of financial need, whose academic pursuits are consistent with one or more of the three purposes of the fund:
Awarded by the Dean of Students and the Career Development Office, in consultation with the Center for Global Engagement, the funds may be used for travel, room and board, fees and tuition, and other expenses.