Rachel Marchand, C’12
April 26, 2010 will be a day that I will never forget. I had just walked in to Van Pelt Library to escape the torrential downpour that was engulfing Philadelphia that day. I had a 10-page final paper due the next day and had plenty of snacks from Wawa to get me through the long night that lie ahead. Just as I was finishing my opening paragraph, my phone began to vibrate. My little sister in my sorority had sent me a text that I will never forget, “Rach, Owen Thomas died today.” In utter shock, I refused to believe that she was telling the truth. She must have heard a bad rumor or I hoped it was a cruel joke, when in fact he was completely fine and alive in his Baltimore Avenue home. I’ve never wished for someone to lie to me more than in that moment, because my little sister had in fact told me the truth. My beloved friend Owen Thomas had died that day.
I met Owen the first day of my freshman year, when I realized the red-headed football player lived two doors down from me. He was and still is one the most amazing people I have ever met in my entire life. Not only was he a great and loyal friend, he was captain of the Penn football team and a student in the prestigious Wharton School. He excelled both on and off the field, and everyone that knew him loved him. I remember having to find and tell my friend, Jackie Haas, the news of his death in the middle of the second floor lounge of the library, and both of us unable to accept the news. We both believed that he just had to be alive. A few minutes later, the rumors were confirmed.
The Penn community lost an amazing person last spring and every step since that day we have walked in honor of Owen. We all hung on to each other for love and support in that difficult time. The football team went on to win the Ivy League Championship this season in honor of #40, and my friends and I wanted to do something to honor Owen as well. We decided to plan a commemorative walk to remember Owen and to raise money to be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We had the walk this past Sunday on Franklin Field and raised over $16,000. It was a beautiful spring day in which we all gathered together to laugh and cry about the good times and the bad. I will never forget that day, and I hope that we made Owen proud and will continue to make him proud each day. Knowing Owen made me a better person, and he will forever hold a place in my heart, where I carry him each day.
Frankly Penn 
Rachel – what a wonderful tribute that you and your friends walked in honor of Owen. If alumni wanted to contribute to the organization you reference, and add to your $16,000 total, how would we do that?
I remember reading the stories when he died and the wonderful tributes that poured in. He was clearly a very special person.
Just a few weeks ago, I saw the Frontline report on head hits in football, and Owen’s death was featured as the researcher in Boston who examined his brain talked bout the disease he had. Hopefully there will be some positive things and research developments that we learn, sadly, because of his death.