January 8, 1999
Contact: Jim Burns (831) 459-2495

Campus memorial for Natasha Wakida set for Monday, January 11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ--A campus memorial for UC Santa Cruz student Natasha Wakida will take place at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, January 11, in UCSC's West Field House. Wakida, a 21-year-old College Eight junior, died in an automobile accident in Maryland on Christmas Day.

Wakida was the person behind UCSC's new mascot, Sammy the Slug. In that role this past fall, she performed at many UCSC sporting events and at a number of other campus activities.

Wakida was studying history, politics, and education at UCSC. She was also active in intercollegiate sports as a member of our women's lacrosse team.

The memorial, "In Celebration of Natasha Wakida's Life and Spirit," is being organized by staff of College Eight and the Office of Physical Education, Recreation, and Sports (OPERS), as well as several of Wakida's closest student friends.

Wakida was born in 1977 in Santa Cruz, where she was a student at Mount Madonna School. A 1996 graduate of Queen Anne's County High School in Maryland, she was a student- athlete who was a member of the National Honor Society and lettered in three sports.

Two funds have been established in Wakida's memory: one at her high school in Maryland and one at UCSC "supporting the spirit of fitness and athletics."

Donations to the former fund should be sent to the Natasha Wakida Scholarship Fund in care of Queen Anne's County High School in Centreville, MD 21617. Donations to the UCSC fund should be made payable to the UCSC Foundation, earmarked for the Natasha Wakida Fund, and sent to OPERS, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064-1077.

The women's lacrosse team will be the initial activity to benefit from contributions to the UCSC fund, according to Dan Wood, director of OPERS.

Note: Photos of Natasha Wakida can be downloaded from the following Web site: http://www.ucsc.edu/currents/98-99/01-04/wakida.htm

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