Daniel Strickland Mourned on Campus

By Kurt Wagner

One of Kerry Strickland's favorite motherly duties was sending her son, Daniel, McDonald's gift cards throughout his collegiate career, first while he was at Seattle University, then later during his graduate schooling at Stanford. She wanted to make sure that her son was always eating.

And like any concerned mother, the gift card would always be followed up by a phone call a week or so later just to check in on her only child — and always, she got the same response: yes mom, I bought a meal or two, but then I found someone on the street who needed the card a lot more than I did and I gave it to them.

That was the way Daniel Strickland lived life.

"He was always giving something to somebody else, whether it was his heart, his knowledge, his ear for listening," said Kerry. "The most that I want people to remember about my son was not only the academics, but the heart that he had and the person that he was is what made me the proudest."

Daniel Strickland, an associate professor of Engineering at Santa Clara, died last Friday due to extensive brain damage suffered in an auto accident the night before on I-280 S. Daniel hit a deer on the road, stalling his car in the lane and was rear ended moments later by another vehicle. He died less than 24 hours later at Stanford Hospital. He was 27 years old.

Daniel came to Santa Clara in the fall of 2010, just a few months removed from Stanford University where he graduated with a Master's degree and a Ph.D. In his short time at Santa Clara, Daniel was a favorite among students because of his ability to relate to them in ways that were deeper than just academics, said senior Mike Sizemore, one of Daniel's research assistants, who described him as just "one of the guys."

Teaching at a Jesuit university was always a dream of Daniel's, according to his parents. Ever since his undergraduate days at Seattle University, Daniel had been inspired by the Jesuit education and way of teaching.

Described as the kind of professor who "had the most 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. meetings" with his students, Sizemore and a handful of other engineering students joined Daniel on his quest to find more sustainable methods of energy storage in an attempt to eliminate a dependency on batteries.

"He was a great professor but that's not the reason that people hung around with him," said Sizemore, who joined Daniel in Nicaragua for a week this summer for research. "He taught us to work hard but the reason people loved him was he was a down to earth, pretty sweet guy."

Despite his obvious academic talents, those who knew Daniel say they will remember him best for his heart and personality outside of the classroom. He had a passion for coffee. He sang once a month in his church choir. He worked regularly at a soup kitchen all through grad school.

And following his passing, his organs were donated to others in need, just as Daniel had wished.

"He was a great young man, one of the finest young men I've ever met," said Fr. Jim Reites, S.J., who accompanied Daniel on trips to Nicaragua and China in the past year. "It's an incredible loss to us all. We had a bright star who was with us for a short time and made a huge impact."

On a staff trip to China in the summer of 2010, Reites got his first taste of Daniel's fun spirit. After eating dinner at a Chinese restaurant, a woman came out to begin an acrobatic performance where she spun a giant urn in the air with her legs. When the woman asked for a volunteer from the audience to get inside the urn while she twirled him, Daniel jumped at the opportunity.

"He was smiling the whole time," laughed Reites. "He just had this great spirit."

Following his trip to Nicaragua this past summer, Daniel made a trip home to Washington State early in September to visit his family. His father accompanied him on the 15 hour drive down to Santa Clara the weekend before classes were to begin.

He spent the final weekend with his son less than a week before his accident, a memory that Rick Strickland says he will never forget.

"I would love to have my son back," said Rick, "but I am so glad I had that opportunity on that road trip."

Both parents were grateful for the members of the Stanford Medical staff and for all of the students and faculty who made an effort to visit their son in the Hospital last Friday.

A memorial has been planned for Daniel this coming Saturday at 11 a.m. at his church of worship, the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. A preservice celebration of Daniel's life will take place at 10 a.m.

"It's exactly what Daniel would want, and it's exactly what this little momma wants," said Kerry. "(It is going to be) truly a celebration of celebrations."

Read Santa Clara University's press release on the passing of Daniel Strickland.

Contact Kurt Wagner at jwagner@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.