Friends of Taylor Hubbard – the GW sophomore who passed away in May – gathered in Kogan Plaza Wednesday evening to mourn the student they described as incredibly cheerful, good-natured and always willing to help someone out.

University officials joined about 50 of Hubbard’s friends and classmates who held white balloons throughout the vigil with messages to Hubbard. The balloons were released at the end of the service after a moment of silence.

Dan Kane – a junior, friend of Hubbard’s and one of the memorial’s organizers – opened the service by saying that Hubbard’s death really hit home for him when classes started Monday and Hubbard’s name was missing from one of his class’s roster.

“Ever since our freshman year, Taylor’s name was right before mine, and to not hear it made his death seem real again,” Kane said. “For the past few months it felt as if he, like all of us, went home for the summer and would be back.”

Junior Dave Perry shared several stories about Hubbard, including a time during their freshman year when Hubbard tried to come up with a nickname for Perry. Hubbard had called Perry “dude bro,” because he said he couldn’t decide whether to call him “dude” or “bro.” When Hubbard tried to use the same nickname the next day, his words got jumbled and he called Perry “brooder” instead – a name that stuck for Hubbard among his friends.

“We all called him Brooder. Brooder is how we knew him,” Perry said.

Junior Kelli Noel remembered her friend who had an infectious personality and smile. She read a letter to the crowd, mentioning how hard the first week of classes was, now that Hubbard didn’t greet her with a hug in class every morning. Noel said she and Hubbard were friends since the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences retreat freshman year. Despite the rain that plagued the trip, Noel said Hubbard made the days memorable for all involved. Many of the speakers mentioned Hubbard’s enthusiasm during that retreat as a favorite memory of their friendship with Hubbard.

Junior Nicole Mann, who lived next door to Hubbard last year, said Hubbard once heard her playing Backstreet Boys music in her room and came in and joined her to dance to it. He showed her his prized speaker system, and they devised a plan to blast music from the speakers at 4 a.m. to startle her roommate, something that never came to fruition.

Josh, a fellow engineering student, said Hubbard became like a brother to him in the two years they had known each other.

“Already I can tell how hard it is because I don’t have him in lab anymore,” he said. “I know we’ll see him again, but now we need to make him proud as a fellow brother and engineer.”

Mary, a friend of Hubbard’s from middle school, came to the memorial wearing one of the T-shirts she had had printed for Hubbard’s friends back home in Maryland. It featured Hubbard’s last name on the back above the number 22, his lacrosse number, she said.

She said it was nice to see how far he had reached since middle school, and enjoyed hearing the different stories from his college friends.

“It was fitting. He was definitely loved by all of his friends and would have wanted to be remembered as the happy guy and the helpful one,” she said.

“To be missed is to be remembered,” Kane said. “And Taylor is going to be remembered for a long, long time.”

Kane said he had imagined a ceremony in tribute to Hubbard before, but in his dreams, Hubbard was announcing a cure for cancer or winning a Nobel Peace Prize. A testament, Kane said, to Hubbard’s intellect, thoughtfulness and abilities.

The somber mood turned, however, when University President Steven Knapp took the podium to make his remarks and incorrectly referred to Hubbard as a “freshman” three times. His friends were visibly upset at the mistake.

University spokeswoman Candace Smith defended Knapp Wednesday evening, saying “Knapp spoke at a moving and emotional service for our deceased student Taylor Hubbard and mistakenly referred to him as a freshman rather than a sophomore. “

Before asking for the moment of silence, Kane read a letter from Hubbard’s parents, who were unable to attend the memorial. The letter thanked the community for its support and urged Hubbard’s friends to remember him and keep in touch through Facebook.