Stephen Charles Parish Jr., a second year New York City Teaching Fellow who was finishing his Master’s degree at the School of Education on the downtown campus, was killed Sunday morning when he fell between two subway trains.

 

From Middleburg Heights, Ohio, near Cleveland, Stephen earned his undergraduate degree at Ohio University. His was as an excellent student who was respected by fellow students and faculty members, and who, in the words of Samantha Feinman, a lecturer who taught him, “brought laughter and happiness to our classrooms, as I know he did to his students. His patience and good nature shone out. It takes a special kind of student to dedicate themselves to working with students who have disabilities and making sure they get the best education they can. He definitely was one of those.” Thomas Masters, an adjunct professor, added that “Steve was extremely supportive of others in his classes, and was usually the first to take a crack at classroom exercises. He was a forthcoming and brave individual.”

 

Pace students conducted an impromptu vigil in his memory Monday afternoon and will shortly announce a more formal memorial event at Pace. Grief counseling is available at the Pace Counseling Center. His family is making funeral arrangements in Ohio, which will be posted when they are final at the Ripepi funeral home Website, www.aripepiandsons.com. A Stephen C. Parish Jr. Memorial Fund is accepting contributions care of Charter One Bank, 15050 Bagley Road, Middleburg Heights, Ohio 44130. Sympathy cards may be sent to his mother, Ms. Rhonda Parish Burch, 7308 Markal Drive, Middleburg Heights, Ohio 44130

 

We extend the sympathies of the Pace University community to Stephen’s family, to his Pace friends, colleagues and professors, to his colleagues at the public schools in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn where he worked (PS K140 and PS 77), and to the students he taught there.

 

Stephen J. Friedman, President, Pace University, Harriet R. Feldman, PhD, Interim Dean, School of Education and the entire Pace Community