Omondi is our muse.
Yet this movement is in service of all who all who deserve to be remembered.
For the spark that they brought.
For the inspiration they offer us now, as we move mountains in service of mental health and suicide prevention.
We miss each of you, and we walk with you in our hearts, our muscles, and our veins.
Your purpose lives within us, every step that we take.
Samuel Ethan Gawel was born on April 18, 2001. His kindness, wit, curiosity, adventurous spirit, and empathy were felt by all.
Sam grew up in Detroit, Michigan. For high school, he attended the Frankel Jewish Academy where he was an active thespian and member of MCUSY (the local chapter of United Synagogue Youth).
He spent his teenage years making friends and family smile with his endless pranks and sarcastic commentary on the oddities of life.
Sam continued his educational journey at Dartmouth as a double major in Earth Sciences & Anthropology. Sam loved college, and had the distinct experience of spending more time off campus than on.
His “off term” was spent tracking the weather at the Mt. Washington Observatory, which was followed by a semester in Hawaii studying anthropology and a spring term of trekking on The Stretch.
Sam worked at the Dartmouth Outing Club and Dartmouth Outdoors Rentals. He was also a gallery attendant at the Hopkins Center and somehow managed to squeeze-in a shift or two a week at Stinson’s Village Store where he shlepped kegs to Tuck parties.
He spent his last summer working in a lab on campus studying water samples from Lake Mascoma. Sam found community among the members of the Timber Team, the brothers of Chi Gamma Epsilon Fraternity where he was the “Weather Man,” and the Sphinx.
Sam is best remembered by his friends and family as a free spirit who loved hiking, exploring the outdoors, listening to eclectic music, cooking and enjoying food from around the world, savoring fine bourbon and craft beer, offering an empathetic ear to anyone in need, and “collecting” stories and connections with the many random people who adored him during his adventures with friends.
