Oakwood student, Justin Hanna

[LynnDel]

http://www.waff.com/story/17248084/candlelight-vigil-rememebrs-oakwood-freshman

Justin, a freshman, drowned on Friday while swimming in a quarry.

[LynnDel]

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Just weeks before he died Friday in an accidental drowning, Oakwood University freshman Justin Hanna told his mother he was closing out his Facebook account and wanted to pray with her every day.

It was clear to those who knew Justin he wanted to spend more time with God and make sure his life was headed in the right direction.

Friends, faculty, Oakwood University president Dr. Leslie Pollard, and even Hanna's mother, were comforted knowing that during Saturday's candlelight vigil on the Oakwood University campus.

The Florence, S.C., freshman was with others Friday when he was pulled from the water by emergency responders at the quarry off Alabama 53. The quarry is owned by the university but leased to Vulcan Materials, an outside company, and off limits to any swimming.

After responders attempted to resuscitate him, Hanna was taken to Huntsville Hospital, where he later died. His body has been taken to his hometown. Funeral arrangements will be announced later this week.

Tim Allston, spokesman for Oakwood University, said more than 225 people attended the candlelight vigil Saturday, including Pollard, who knew Hanna. As is tradition at Oakwood, Allston said all flags are at half-mast in tribute to Hanna.

"He was a wonderful young man," Pollard said. "He had a wonderful spirit. He was very focused spiritually."

Dr. Howard Weems, senior chaplain at Oakwood University, said he talked with Hanna's mother, Vanessa Hanna, Saturday and she said he'd made some very important changes in his life.

"About two weeks ago he told his mother he was closing out his Facebook account because he wanted to focus on his life," Weems said. "He also told his mother he wanted her to call him every day and pray with her.

"He just let his social media go. I found that to be very interesting."

Weems said Justin's mother was very encouraged and "her spirit much lighter" after the vigil to see the outpouring of love for her son.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/03/oakwood_university_freshman_wh.html

[Kountzer]

There were no public swimming pool for us to swim in at the small town I grew up in. I could go into detail about that, but I won't. The guys used to work around that by swimming in this dug out sand pit by the rail road tracks.

I was in the military, but I was home on leave. I was 20 something at the time. I looked for my friends, and many of them were are the sand pit. I went and watched from the side. The water was murky. They were out there diving and playing around. It looked dangerous to me.

Sure enough, less than a year later, as I recall, I got word from home that a good friend, Harold, had drowned in the sand pit. Wow. He was a good person.

That tragedy was the first thing I thought about when I heard about the student drowning at Oakwood.