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Laura Rodriguez changed her hair color almost every week. 

First it was blonde, then it changed to black, then blue, then purple, then pink. It was even green for a period of time. If there was a new color she wanted to try or a new activity she wanted to pursue, Rodriguez’s friends and family said she would do it. Nothing would stop her from finding an adventure and having fun. 

“She would always say, ‘it’s my life, and if I don’t like it, I’m going to change it,’” said Brianna Zabawa, one of Rodriguez’s friends from high school. “Live the life you want to live and don’t let anyone or anything stop you because honestly life is too short. We learned (that) from Laura.”

Rodriguez, known as Natalya to much of her family, was a senior psychology major at Syracuse University. Rodriguez died Dec. 22 after her brother accidentally shot her. She was 19 years old.

A Houston native, Rodriguez first visited SU through a program at her high school. After seeing the campus, she immediately fell in love with the university and decided to attend, Zabawa said.

Although many of Rodriguez’s counselors at school advised against applying to SU for financial and academic reasons, Rodriguez still applied and was later admitted to SU’s Abroad Discovery Program in Madrid.

At Rodriguez’s high school, she and many of her classmates were able to graduate with an associate’s degree and nearly 60 academic credits, which would allow Rodriguez to graduate after her second year in college.

SU didn’t accept Rodriguez’s credits at first, but she advocated for herself, and the university eventually did. 

“There was nothing that was hard for her, that deterred her from anything,” said Laura Lara, Rodriguez’s mother. “She said, ‘I don’t care if I go into debt, but I’m leaving. I’m going there.’”

Rodriguez was the first person Isabella Rosales met during her time in SU’s Discovery Madrid program. Rosales was lost in the John F. Kennedy International Airport when Rodriguez found her. 

“I remember she just caught me and said something that was so funny that I remember laughing so hard the minute I met her,” Rosales said.

Soon after, Rodriguez and Rosales made other friends and formed a strong group during their time abroad.

Many of Rodriguez’s family remember her sense of humor and infectious laugh. Courtesy of Isabella Rosales

Donyell Logan, a sophomore medicinal chemistry and psychology major, met Rodriguez after they were partnered together for a group project in Madrid. Her passion for psychology inspired him to add it as one of his majors.

“She just knew that there was something with the brain and human behavior,” Logan said. “She was passionate about learning about how others are, how she could impact others and how others impact herself and the world around her.”

Logan and Rodriguez both served on the Diversity and Inclusion Student Committee in Madrid. Rodriguez was passionate about human rights and diversity, her friends said. Rodriguez always spoke her mind, and she held people to a high standard.

Logan remembers Rodriguez’s laugh. Her sense of humor was one of her most notable traits, Rodriguez’s friends said.

“Whenever Laura laughed, it wasn’t a fake laugh because she wasn’t a fake person at all,” Logan said.

Cindy Mendoza and Jas Ganev, two of Rodriguez’s friends from Madrid, recalled visiting London with her in November 2019.

Ganev will always remember when Rodriguez got to visit Platform 9 ¾ in King’s Cross station, from the film and novel series “Harry Potter.” A die-hard fan of the series, Rodriguez immediately posed for a picture at the platform with her Harry Potter-themed scarf and wand. 

“Her face was filled with so much happiness and this childlike wonder as well,” Ganev said. “It was really nice to see her so elated by the Harry Potter world and having that moment.”

Zeynep Cakmak, a sophomore bioengineering major, recalled a time when the group decided to go to Rome and visit the Vatican, and within five minutes, she and Rodiguez realized they’d become separated from the others.

Instead of panicking, Rodriguez continued to look around and take pictures.

“I was super stressed the whole time about how we were going to find everyone, and she was super carefree, just looking around, like we weren’t lost in a foreign country,” Cakmak said.

Back on campus, the friends continued to spend their free time together, mostly in each other’s dorms. They loved watching TV shows and movies. 

Rodriguez was always watching Disney movies or listening to soundtracks, her friends said. She even auditioned to be on the Disney Channel when she was younger, Lara said. 

Rosales described a deep connection between her and Rodriguez. The two planned to live together for the remainder of their time at SU.

“She was my closest friend on campus,” Rosales said. “We had a lot of plans together. Your college best friends are the people you expect to be with for life.”

Rodriguez’s friends had future trips to each other’s hometowns planned, including to Houston this summer. She was proud of her hometown, and friends used to tease the way she said certain things, saying that was very “Texas” of her, Rosales said. 

“It’s going to be hard, but it’s not going to stop us from hanging out, from doing all the things we used to do together,” Rosales said. “It’s always going to feel like she’s not there, but I think we’re always going to feel her presence.”

To her friends, Rodriguez was a person they could always count on for a word of advice or a reason to smile.

Rodriguez’s friends could always count on her for a piece of advice or a reason to smile. Courtesy of Brianna Zabawa

“She took the role of any character that you needed,” Zabawa said. “If you needed a therapist, she was your therapist. If you needed a supporter, she was your supporter. If you needed someone to put you back on track, she would tell it to you straight-up.”

Rodriguez eventually wanted to become a therapist, having struggled with mental health herself. Zabawa and Lisa Martin, who has known Rodriguez since middle school, said she was always reminding them to put their needs and happiness first.

“She was always there for everything — even if it’s something as small as a bicker or fight or as big as a traumatic experience, she was always there,” Martin said.

Zabawa and Martin recalled video messages Rodriguez often left on their phones reminding them that she loved them.

“If you were a friend of hers, you never questioned your friendship,” Zabawa said. “She showed you that you were loved and that you were cherished in her life.”

Jagger Kirkland met Rodriguez in fifth grade at Lyons Elementary School in Houston. Rodriguez made sure Kirkland, who was a new student at the time, felt welcome and comfortable.

“Even at the age of 10, she was that mature,” Kirkland said.

Although Rodriguez and Kirkland attended different middle schools, they stayed in touch. Rodriguez used to volunteer to help Kirkland while they were working at Pizza Hut, even though she wasn’t an employee.

 “She still positioned herself in support of me,” Kirkland said. 

Rodriguez’s family remembers her determination. In high school, Rodriguez tried out for cheerleading, not because she had a passion for it but because she wanted to prove that she could, said Lucy Rodriguez, Rodriguez’s sister.

“She wanted to make a point that heavy girls could fit into something that was stereotypical for skinnier girls,” Lucy Rodriguez said. “She wanted to prove a point that even heavy girls could fit into that.”

Lara recalled how excited Rodriguez was to vote for the first time. She carried an “I voted” sticker in a special compartment in her wallet. Rodriguez also became a lector at her church despite being younger than most in the role, Lara said.

“I think everybody should be like her,” Lara said. “You don’t know what your future holds, so I would say live the best that you can and take chances in life.”

Rodriguez’s friends and family said they’ll miss her infectious laugh, her inner-child and her love of life.

“You will never find another person like our Laura,” Zabawa said. “Laura was Laura.”

Published on January 11, 2021 at 10:34 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan