MSN_120618

12 | December 6, 2018 | Malibu surfside news news
malibusurfsidenews.com
In song and in spirit, Pepperdine unites, grieves
Community gathers
at memorial service
for student Alaina
Housley
Barbara Burke
Freelance Reporter
As Pepperdine University
Chaplain Sara Barton
opened the Nov. 28 memorial
service for 18-year-old
Alaina Housley, she looked
out at a sea of young faces.
Many students were,
she noted, dealing with a
death for the first time. The
gathering for Housley — a
victim of the Nov. 7 mass
shooting at the Borderline
Bar & Grill in Thousand
Oaks — was, of course,
very sad, but it also was
infused with happy memories.
Housley loved to be immersed
with music and to
immerse others with her
beautiful voice, a voice that
Music Professor Ida Nicolosi
characterized as a “glorious
instrument.”
That is, Barton said, why
one of Housley’s favorite
ensembles, The Filharmonic,
filled the Firestone
Fieldhouse with harmonies.
That is why Lauren Drake,
one of her suite mates,
beautifully performed one
of Housley’s favorite songs,
“On My Own,” from “Les
Come visit our showroom
Miserables.” That is why
the lovely service included
a performance of Psalm 23,
God’s Word of Comfort,
by her college house suite
mates Haley Brouwer, Pari
Cribbins, Bridget Johnson,
Ashley Mowreader, Zoe
Walsh and Alicia Yu. That
is why all assembled joined
in a rendition of “Shine on
Us” — a work that includes
a most fitting verse: “To
find our way in the darkest
night. Let your grace fall
on us” — just before they
segued to singing “Noel,
Noel.”
Noel. Peace. A peace that
passes all understanding —
that is a phrase oft-quoted
from scripture.
Housley’s parents, Arik
and Hannah Housley, who
met and fell in love at Pepperdine,
have begun to find
such a peace, even as they
mourned their daughter at
Pepperdine’s fieldhouse, a
venue usually reserved for
students to celebrate joyous
occasions like pep rallies,
ball games and commencement
ceremonies.
“I stand before you with
my heart broken and completely
vulnerable,” Hannah
said. “Because I can
acknowledge that my heart
and mind is being filled
continuously by unfailing
love. ... There is so much
love and it is bigger than
hate.”
Arik and Hannah Housley, parents of the late Alaina
Housley, speak at their daughter’s memorial service.
The Housleys spoke
fondly about their beloved
daughter, about how excited
she was to be a Wave
and about her dreams and
aspirations. She loved
sports and choral and instrumental
music. She
loved to debate and to socialize.
She loved to donate
her time to causes
greater than her own. She
loved to learn. She was always
looking forward. Indeed,
she was looking forward
to studying abroad in
Florence, Italy, next year,
to pursuing her English
degree, and to possibly becoming
an attorney.
All the world was Alaina’s
oyster until that fateful
night.
Nevertheless, her parents
and those speaking
and singing at the service
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The Pepperdine University Concert Choir performs at the
Nov. 28 memorial service for Alaina Housley.
Photos by Suzy Demeter/22nd Century Media
manifested an aura of faithinfused
hope. Although
Alaina’s life was tragically
cut short, the radiance of
her spirit will remain with
all who knew her.
Attendees sat in awe
and reverence as Alaina’s
grieving parents manifested
enormous strength
and eulogized their child,
thanked the creator for
giving them their precious
gem, thanked family,
friends, and those at Pepperdine
and in the greater
Malibu community for
providing tremendous support
to them, and thanked
Alaina for blessing them
with her lovely presence.
On the night Alaina died,
she finished her homework
and shared a dinner with
students and Chris Doran,
associate professor of religion
and a longtime family
friend. Then, she phoned
her parents to tell them
that she was going to Borderline
to line dance. Arik
tearfully noted that he and
Hannah used to go to the
same venue when they attended
Pepperdine.
Steeped in Christian
faith, Alaina’s parents and
all assembled displayed
remarkable strength and
positivity.
“I think we should remember
that Alaina was a
light,” said Katie White,
a student spokesperson.
“She was a light in the
lives of our students, she
was a light in the lives of
our professors and she was
a light in the lives of our
alumni. She was a light
that brought hope and encouragement
to our community.”
As the celebration honoring
Alaina drew to a
close, Pepperdine President
Andrew K. Benton
invited attendees to “rise
in solidarity,” and said that
all in attendance would
“strengthen their steps as
they move forward.”
He, like Arik, noted that
the prevalence of senseless
gun violence must be
stopped and suggested that
whenever someone sees
another person alone, they
should do what Alaina
did so artfully in her short
life: shine a loving light on
them.
To further honor Alaina’s
legacy, Pepperdine has established
the Alaina Housley
Memorial Endowed
Scholarship Fund.
“Though Alaina was
unfairly prevented from
achieving her dreams of
completing a college education,
we at Pepperdine
have chosen to honor her
memory by ensuring that
those dreams stay in sight
for other students now and
into the future,” the fund
page notes. “ ... Though
Alaina’s time at Pepperdine
was short, she created
a lasting impact for
her classmates and teachers
alike. Through this
scholarship fund, we hope
to ensure that, even in her
death, she will always continue
to change lives for
the better.
As of Friday, Nov. 30, the
fund had raised $132,225.
To donate, visit impact.
pepperdine.edu/alaina.