Family and friends of Junior Accounting Major David Wood IV, who passed away in a car accident May 17, gathered at an Eternal Setters Memorial that was held to celebrate his life in the Butcher Suite last Tuesday.

The memorial began with an invocation from Campus Chaplin Sister Susan Becker.

Associate Vice President and Dean for Students, Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo, then presented a certificate of achievement from the Lubin School of Business to David Wood IV’s family.

After receiving the award David Wood IV’s father, David Wood III, spoke about his son’s life, including his love of cars, high grades, and his friendly nature.

“David Wood IV found the good in everyone, and wanted good for everyone,” David Wood III said.

He also spoke about his son’s struggle with bipolar disorder and how he feels that society should drop the stigma and do more to recognize those affected by mental illness.

“If you get cancer in our society right now you get a pink ribbon, you get all kinds of attention, fundraising walks, and all these great open arms to help you. Unfortunately, and we’re going to change this, when mental illness kicks in, everybody hides, nobody knows what to do, everybody is scared,” David Wood III said.

In order to raise awareness about mental illness David Wood III wrote an article in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine called Losing the Lottery, which he gave out copies of to the audience. He also encouraged the attendees to reach out to quiet people they see who might be struggling with mental illness.

“No more tables for one, if you see someone dining solo, invite them over for crying out loud. Just say hello to people, you’re in a special environment where you can do that. But you can also keep doing that the rest of your life,” David Wood III said.

Moscaritolo promised that she would help prioritize mental health issues at Pace. She plans to work together with Director of the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Education, Mary Breen, to incorporate the non-profit organization Active Minds, which works to raise awareness about mental health issues among college students, into the effort.

Members of the community than shared what they remembered about David Wood IV, starting with graduate student Joseph Cairo who was his Week of Welcome Leader and was a member of Accounting Society with him.

“The first semester he didn’t miss a single meeting [in Accounting Society] and was eagerly trying to get involved. The second semester he became the Vice President, we worked together that semester, and it was a great semester,” Cairo said.

His former Resident Assistant, Destiny Perez, shared how David Wood IV’s kindness impacted her life.

“He was one of those people who truly cared about other people. When I was in the office [on duty] I couldn’t leave so he would always ask me if [I wanted him to get me something] he was one of the only residents that did that for me,” Perez said.

David Wood IV’s sister Elena Wood recalled how much her brother loved video games –especially Roller Coaster Tycoon – and music, with his favorite artist being Justin Bieber.

“He snuck into a Justin Bieber concert last summer. Because he was watching from Jones’ Beach from the side, and a security guard saw him and just thought he looked really polite. He was well dressed and quiet, he wasn’t pushy or shovey, and I think the guard said ‘Do you want to just come on in,’ and they just let him in,” Elena Wood said.

Becker closed the service by reciting Mary Oliver’s poem The Song of the Builder.

Find the article Losing the Lottery by David Wood III here: http://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/articles/losing-lottery