Academic Brilliance and Southern Adventist University

Anna’s intellectual curiosity and work ethic were matched only by her faith. It was no surprise when she was accepted into Southern Adventist University, where she pursued a degree with passion and purpose. Friends describe her as both a scholar and a listener—a person who thrived in study groups not just because of her smarts, but because she genuinely cared about the success of others.

Professors remember her as “a shining presence in every classroom,” someone who would stay after lectures not to argue over grades but to discuss philosophy, theology, or offer help to another student struggling with an assignment.

While many of her classmates recall late-night study sessions, dorm conversations, and student leadership meetings, what they remember most was Anna’s deep-seated kindness.

“She had this glow about her,” said Leah Gomez, a close friend and fellow student. “She would stop and pray with you right there on the sidewalk if she felt you were hurting. That’s just who she was.”

Faith and Service: A Calling to Lift Others

Anna’s spiritual walk was never performative—it was authentic, unshakable, and deeply transformative to those around her. She served as a student chaplain during her senior year, leading small group ministries, volunteering with local shelters, and mentoring younger students.

She was known for her humility—never drawing attention to herself but always making others feel seen, heard, and loved. On more than one occasion, Anna was credited with helping peers avoid mental health crises through nothing more than her attentive ear and heartfelt prayers.

“Anna had the heart of a servant leader,” said Pastor Jeremy Miles, the campus ministry coordinator. “She didn’t just attend worship. She was worship. Her presence alone reminded people of God’s love.”

The Tragic and Untimely Loss

News of Anna’s passing has sent waves of grief across Southern Adventist University and the broader Collegedale community. While the circumstances of her death remain private out of respect for the family, the impact has been seismic.

On the morning of the announcement, students gathered in quiet circles across campus to pray, cry, and remember. Professors canceled classes. The university flag was lowered to half-mast.

“She should’ve had decades ahead of her—years to teach, to heal, to grow,” said university president Dr. Kyle Hampton. “And yet, in the short time she was with us, she lived more meaningfully than many do in a lifetime.”

A Celebration of Life

Plans for a memorial service are underway, with tributes expected from classmates, professors, church leaders, and family members from across the country. The service will be held on campus in the university chapel and streamed live to accommodate the many who cannot attend in person but wish to pay their respects.

Anna’s family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Anna Isabella Correa Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will support young women studying theology, nursing, or social work—fields Anna had been passionate about exploring further.

What She Leaves Behind

While Anna’s physical presence is no longer with us, what remains is powerful:

• The journals she kept, filled with verses and reflections that will one day comfort others.
• The many lives she touched—students who graduated because of her tutoring, people who found faith through her witness.
• The community that now carries a piece of her spirit, committed to living more kindly and more purposefully because of her example.

“She made you believe in goodness again,” said Dr. Maria Estevez, her faculty advisor. “She reminded us that love and integrity still matter, especially in a world that feels increasingly lost.”

Legacy of Light

The words “A light gone too soon” are often said about the young, but with Anna Isabella Correa, it feels especially true. And yet, that light has not been extinguished. It burns now in the hearts of those who knew her, those she helped, those she prayed for, and those she never met but who will be touched by the scholarship and service inspired by her legacy.

In the final line of a devotional Anna once wrote for her classmates, she penned:

“If my life can make even one person feel closer to God, then it was a life well-lived.”

Indeed, Anna. It was.

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