Editor’s column: Kroeger ‘took the world by storm’

Earlier today my organization lost one of our own photographers, Rebecca Kroeger, in a car accident in Minnesota. For someone who has built a career on writing, I can tell you it has never been more difficult to find the right words to express our sadness and to describe who Rebecca was as a person.

There is no way to accurately describe her vibrant personality and willingness to help anyone she could. Nothing scared her, and she took the world by storm every chance she was given. I have never been more proud of anyone I have ever had the chance to meet.

That, I can tell you, is the most difficult part of today. I feel so incredibly honored to have had the chance to be a part of this young lady’s life and to get the chance to see her grow up in front of my very own eyes.

I had the privilege of meeting this beautiful woman just after her junior year of high school as her counselor for South Dakota Girls State Journalism City. Girls State brings high school women from across the state to participate in a mock government, while young journalists put together a daily newspaper for coverage of the week-long events.

Rebecca walked in that Monday afternoon, and I instantly knew she was vibrant, young, passionate and an overall incredible individual. Her own camera in tow, she came prepared to bring her craft to everyone taking part in our program — taking hundreds of photos at every single event that week.

I can also tell you everyone on my staff felt the exact same way about her. It is never easy, as an individual or an organization, to hear such heartbreaking news, and telling my staff was the most difficult thing I have ever done in my entire life.

I could see in each of their eyes as they welled with tears a heartbreak I cannot describe. Ask anyone who knew Rebecca, and the first thing they will tell you is how vibrant her spirit was.

When I think of Rebecca, I think of just that — a creative, talented woman who was so gifted in her ability to capture photos and create beautiful images. Her Instagram, Facebook and Twitter were all full of her passion. She lived and breathed art and photography.
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But with that privilege of knowing someone so special comes the great responsibility of honoring her memory in any way possible. I can only hope as I grow as a person I exude half of her spunk, her beauty, her kindness and her creativity. Each and every day is a gift, and if everyone lived life as full as Rebecca’s, this world would be the most beautiful place.

Rebecca will be missed by many, not only at The Volante and Girls State, but in the state of South Dakota and the campus of USD.

— Emily Niebrugge, Editor-in-chief, The Volante

(Rebecca Kroeger, left, laughs with news editor Cristina Drey, right, during a Volante potluck last semester. Josie Flatgard/The Volante)