“Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” - Dune

Marc was an amazing person, a brilliant mind, a light in the darkness, and just a cool dude. With him there was always an adventure to go on, stories to be told, fun to be had.

I had the privilege, as all of his friends did, of scraping just a bit more from him. To me, he was a mentor, partner in crime, and bad influence in the best way. As many others have mentioned, Marc had no interest in the walls I put up and the persona I put on. He wanted to know me, my hopes, dreams, fears, desires. He wanted me to become the best version of myself and wouldn’t let anyone, including me, get in the way. I am the person I am today partly because of him.

I started with that Dune quote because, selfishly, I’m terrified to live in a world without Marc. And I imagine some of y’all are too. Losing him feels like the floor falling from beneath me. But if Marc taught me anything, he taught me to be fearless, not due to a lack of fear, but a refusal to let fear drive you. I intend to carry that piece of him with me the rest of my life, and I encourage you to do the same. 

Marc had an incredible ability to make people feel important and noticed. When you felt out of place, he made you feel like you belonged, like you were supposed to be there. He was kind, thoughtful, supportive, one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met, and had an amazing sense of humor that sometimes caught you by surprise.

In college, I was always around extroverted people and got used to being more of a listener than a talker. So during one of my early conversations with Marc, he completely took me off guard when he turned to me and said with complete seriousness, “No, I want to hear about YOU.” He wouldn’t let the conversation continue until he was sure I felt comfortable talking just as much as he did. That’s the Marc I will always remember.

I’m so grateful that our lives crossed for the brief time that they did, and I’ll treasure my memories of Marc for the rest of my life. Sending all my love to his friends and family. ❤️