Updated at 5:48 p.m.

Law and business school student Benjamin Gupta died Monday in his D.C. home. He was 28 years old.

An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death. Family members told the Omaha World Herald that Gupta died in his sleep.

The JD and MBA candidate worked as a partnership coordinator for the Global Partnership Initiative – a State Department program that brings together public and private groups to collaborate on diaspora, economic, health and sustainability-related projects.

“We were stunned to hear of Ben’s passing, and I am deeply saddened by the loss of one of our stand-out students,” GW School of Business Dean Doug Guthrie said.

Gupta attended the Phillips Exeter Academy and Boston University, where he received a bachelor of arts in economics and psychology. The Omaha, Neb. native worked as a staff assistant for then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., in 2007.

A memorial service will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Joseph Gawler’s Sons Funeral Home at 5130 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

The family asked that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be sent to the World Education Foundation in Omaha.