Shirzad Soleymani was loved by everyone who knew him, friends
said. He had a passion for life and the ability to please people
effortlessly.
On Feb. 11, Soleymani was involved in a moped accident. He
died four days later.
Soleymani was a sophomore at HPU. He was Pre-Med, and he wanted
to be a doctor like his father, Mehrzad Soleymani. Rebeca Stanciu,
who said that Shirzad was “like a brother to me,” described
Shirzad pride at everything his father had accomplished, and
remembered a story Soleymani told about his father as soccer
coach.
“
The goalie didn’t show up for a game, and Shirzad wanted
to go in. Shirzad was a striker, and his father told him he
couldn’t go in as goalie unless he got 9 goals. At the
end of the half, the score was 9-0, and Shirzad was in as goalie,” said
Stanciu, smiling.
Soleymani lived for adventure. He could be found surfing 16-foot
waves, partying with friends, “Whatever we were doing,
no matter what it was, he always tried to make it better, to
make sure that everyone was having a good time,” said
Stanciu.
“
He was very protective, I could always count on him no matter
what. If I was having a bad day, I would call Shirzad. Even
if he was having a bad day, he would drop whatever he was doing
to listen,” said Stanciu.
Amanda Yong-Yow, a freshman at HPU, met Soleymani during fall
2007 biology class. “He was really independent,” said
Yong-Yow, “always doing his own thing, but if you needed
him, he was there. He was a selfless person. Anything he had,
he shared it with everybody.”
Soleymani was very ambitious. There were many things he wanted
to do in his life, and he was working harder at school and
trying to get good grades in order to accomplish those things.
“
There was a lot more to him than people thought. He was that
guy with the goofy hair, ripped up jeans, tan, big smile. But
once you got to know him, and got to talk to him, he had a
lot to say,” said Yong-Yow.
Shirzad Soleymani will be greatly missed. He leaves family and friends with the
fondest memories of him.
“I’ve never seen a personality like that,” Stanucci said. “Shirzad
was the most selfless, caring, respectful person I’ve ever met.”
