A continuous refrain could be heard in almost every conversation about senior Boryana ("Bory") Damyanova Monday evening: "She had no regrets."
The Institute for Global Leadership hosted a two-hour-long informal gathering of Damyanova's friends, classmates and University administrators. She was killed Tuesday, Nov. 22 when she was struck by two cars near campus.
The evening was scheduled as an hour of open discussion and an hour of only Damyanova's 2003-2004 Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) class, but attendees chose to talk in small groups the entire evening.
"[Bory] had an incredible ability to touch everyone around her," senior Ajaita Shah, one of Damyanova's EPIIC classmates, said. Some attendees drew strength from speaking, laughing and crying with each other, while others chose to sit in silent reflection.
Dean of Students Bruce Retiman, Provost Jamshed Bharucha and his wife, and trustee Bruce Male ('63) - Damyanova's sponsor - attended the gathering. A similar gathering took place in Lewis Hall for international students, hosted by International Center Director Jane Etish-Andrews.
Male explained how he met Damyanova and brought her to Tufts. "It was done through the former dean of admissions," he said. "We had a discussion about an applicant that Tufts could not afford not to admit, but there were problems due to the lack of financial aid."
"I decided to provide aid because I wanted to allow her to go to Tufts but also because I wanted to see what kind of relationship could form between someone like me and someone like her," he said.
"Bory was the poster child for why it's important to provide financial aid for international students to bring them to institutions such as Tufts," Bharucha said.
Male serves as the Chairman for the International Board of Overseers - an advisory group for the University on issues concerning international students. Damyanova made a presentation at the board's Summer 2004 meeting.
"She gave a talk that made me very proud and which was stunning," Male said. "As a result of that speech, the Board embarked on a financial aid program."
Shah said Damyanova "was the busiest person, and yet was always laid back."
"And smiling," senior Anura Patil, also an EPIIC classmate, added.
"Bory was upbeat. Even when she had serious considerations there was always a positive tilt to her," Male said.
As a Bulgarian attending school in the United States, Damyanova experienced many "firsts." Male took her to Bruins and Celtics games, and he remembered the first time she ate a lobster.
As the night continued, the poem, "And Death shall have no dominion" by Dylan Thomas was distributed, along with a short note from Sabrina Lopez-Ivern (LA '04), another EPIIC classmate.
"Although it seems at first glance a somber poem, I feel it's triumphant and alive. That's how I would like to remember Bory because she is and always will be very, very present," Lopez-Ivern said.
Rick Berry, the Institute's artist-in-residence, also attended. Berry saw the accident that killed Damyanova and was at the scene when she passed away. He did not know Damyanova before, but he said her friends need to keep their memories alive. "None of these have to be lost if we don't make them lost. There's no need for senselessness," he said.
Damyanova's funeral will take place this Sunday in Sofia, Bulgaria - where Damyanova's parents live - at the Sveta Nedelya Church. The University expects to have a memorial service for Damyanova after Winter Break, Reitman said.
