Bucknell student from Mountain Lakes found dead on campus 'lived every day with passion'

Services took place on Friday for Christian Samay, the Mountain Lakes native and Bucknell University student who was found dead on the Bucknell campus on March 30.

Samay, 22, graduated from Mountain Lakes High School in 2020, according to the obituary on the Norman Dean Funeral Home website. He then went on to study political science with a minor in legal studies at Bucknell University. Although he has spent summers working as an investment banking analyst, he was likely to go into law after graduation.

Growing up in Mountain Lakes, Samay was a prominent athlete. From a young age he played lacrosse and soccer. His club soccer team earned the No. 1 ranking in the state, top 10 status in the country, and first-time champions representing the USA U18 team in the Barcelona Summer Cup. Samay went on to captain his high school team for two years, described in the obituary as a "consummate team player, a loyal teammate" and a "dominant and talented physical force."

During his time at Bucknell, he was a dean's list student and an active brother in his fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta. He was elected to serve as the fraternity's vice president and the treasurer his junior year.

Samay loved going to the beach, hanging out with his family and friends, going golfing and mini golfing, boat rides, and waterskiing, according to the obituary.

It is clear that he had a positive impact on those around him from his family to his friends, and even strangers.

"He lived every day of his life with passion, zeal, and love for those important to him," says the obituary. "He would often engage in random acts of kindness toward perfect strangers and was never afraid to stand up for what is right and to protect his loved ones under any circumstances ... his positive light will radiate on all of us forever."

A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to cover the funeral costs, pay for memorials inside and outside of the Phi Gamma Delta house, and fund future events dedicated to Samay. His family requested that remaining proceeds be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.

"We lost an integral, impactful person in our lives when Christian Samay passed," says the fundraiser. "Christian was a one-of-a-kind impactful person who constantly made everyone around him happy."

As of Monday, three days after the services, donations were still pouring in and more than $62,900 had been raised.

A letter was sent out on the evening of March 30 to the Bucknell University community from John C. Bravman, president of the university. The statement said, "It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the death of a Bucknell student on campus today ... this is an unspeakable loss for the Bucknell community, and our hearts go out to Christian's family and friends."

"We appreciate your support and respect for the privacy of all involved," he wrote. "I call upon all Bucknellians to support each other in this difficult time, and to keep Christian's family in your prayers."

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The university has not provided additional details of where his body was found or how they suspect he died.

The tragic news of his death came less than 24 hours after the campus was on lockdown for an active shooter alert which was determined by Pennsylvania State Police to have been a hoax originating out of Virginia, according to USA TODAY.

In his statement, Bravman said that Samay's death was unrelated to the active shooter alert and campus lockdown and that the circumstances are not suspicious.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bucknell student from NJ found dead remembered in obituary