A former Cardinal died Tuesday, but his influence continues to live on campus and in his communities.
Nathan Trapuzzano, a 2011 Ball State alumnus, was shot and killed while taking his morning rosary walk Tuesday in Indianapolis.
He was 24 and hadn't even seen the first anniversary with his wife, Jennifer. Their unborn child, Cecilia, is due within the next month.
People from across the country have showed their support for Trapuzzano and his family in a little more than a day.
Not long after he died Tuesday, Chelsea Ransom posted a GoFundMe page as a fundraiser for Trapuzzano’s funeral expenses and to care for his unborn child.
Donations have flooded in. As of 2:15 p.m. today, 2,174 people have donated a total of $112,788. The number continues to grow with each page refresh.
Friends at Ball State say the support shows the effect that Trapuzzano had on others.
“To see that generosity from people that didn’t know him, who just saw his story online, it shows you that people understand that he was different,” said senior Branden Stanley, who knew Trapuzzano in his time at the university. “Everyone is special, but he raised the bar in every way.”
Stanley took Latin classes with Trapuzzano, who studied in the classics. The two were friends in the Catholic community as well, through the Newman Center.
At the time of his death, Trapuzzano and Stanley were both members of the Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis.
Stanley remembers Trapuzzano’s passion for Latin and his faith. He said Trapuzzano would attend Latin masses in Muncie would take notes during it. Afterward, he would approach the priest with notes on how they could improve their pronunciation.
"He was amazing at Latin," Stanley said. "[He would] basically instruct the priests on how to speak Latin. Knowing Nathan, he wouldn't have done it in a condescending way."
Stanley said Trapuzzano was strong — physically, emotionally and spiritually — and he always used that strength to help others grow.
Trapuzzano was active in the Newman Center community, the Ball State Honors College and Eta Sigma Phi, a national classics honorary.
Senior economics major Chris Crowley, who was in Eta Sigma Phi with Trapuzzano, said he always went out of his way to reach out to others.
Crowley said Trapuzzano organized group activities and was able to get him to come out of his comfort zone to attend them.
“I never got to tell him this,” Crowley said. “I was going through a really tough time [freshman year]. He saw that and he came up to me and he patted me on the back and he said, ‘Hey man, it’s OK.’”
Chris Shea, a Ball State professor of classics, worked closely with Trapuzzano.
She said he was one of her best students but he was more than that — Trapuzzano was a friend who will be missed.
Shea recalls he gave up much of his time to tutor peers and high school students in Latin, even without pay.
“He was somebody who really lived the communal life of the university,” she said. “He was a great student and a great human being.”
French professor Donald Gilman also worked with Trapuzzano in his time at Ball State. He attested that Trapuzzano was generous with his time, helping other students in their studies.
“Nathan was undoubtedly a brilliant student,” Gilman said. “He enjoyed the company of others, always genial. His integrity was impeccable.”
He said Trapuzzano considered continuing his study of medieval Latin at the graduate level, but decided to pursue a career in computer programming instead.
After graduating, Trapuzzano worked as a software engineer at Ivy Tech Community College. The college said in a statement that it will offer his daughter a full, two-year scholarship to Ivy Tech.
Joanna Brady, a Catholic missionary on Ball State’s campus, knew Trapuzzano’s wife, Jennifer, who graduated in 2012.
“He would always surprise her, and she was always so excited to be engaged,” Brady said. “He was a man of integrity and he really honored and supported her.”
She said students in the community loved watching their relationship and saw them as the “model couple.”
After graduating, Trapuzzano worked as a software engineer at Ivy Tech Community College. The college said in a statement that it will offer his daughter a full, two-year scholarship to Ivy Tech.
Senior general studies major Kyle Garretson and senior philosophy and telecommunications major Richard Storey both met Trapuzzano through the Newman Center.
Trapuzzano’s death hit Garretson hard as he nears graduation, he said.
“Life is short, but I’ve got to make sure I live it to the fullest — that’s what he did,” he said. “He got married, was about to have a kid, great job and just took every day as a gift.”
Storey remembers Trapuzzano as a “dynamite” leader in the Newman Center community.
“He was the guy that everyone wanted to be,” he said. “Physically, [he was] a big strong man, but he was so kind and welcoming. You describe the ideal man and that’s the description of Nathan Trapuzzano.”
Storey said the fundraiser for Trapuzzano’s family has kept him rooted in hope as he sees the donations come in.
“This is a beautiful result of such a tragic happening that people can be so generous,” he said. “There is so much coverage and people are working so hard in Indy to find the people responsible and get them off the streets so this doesn’t happen again.”
Stanley said he looked up to Trapuzzano as the type of person to emulate and through sharing his story, others are recognizing it, as well.
“When people hear his story, they are inspired,” he said. “God put Nathan in our lives to show us how to be true men and He took him out of our lives to remind us why that is important.”
