Brianna Herrera’s friends always gathered in her Walnut Avenue apartment, playing Clue or Uno. This Sunday, they passed around photos of Herrera in the apartment’s kitchen.

Herrera, a Syracuse University senior, died in a bus crash on Thursday night. She was 21.

She always stayed busy as an information management and technology major. Her friends said sometimes they would go days without seeing her because she spent most of her time in Bird Library.

Paulina Colon, an SU alumna who roomed with Herrera when she was a sophomore, met her through the Sigma Delta Tau sorority, where they were both members. Colon said Herrera always wanted everyone to have fun and be happy.

“There was never a dull moment when you were with her,” Colon said.

Hundreds of Syracuse University students attended a candlelight vigil at Hendricks Chapel on Friday night. Hieu Nguyen | Senior Staff Photographer

Herrera loved dancing, partying and going out with friends. She spent most of her time with her boyfriend Shareif Jones, an SU senior. They had matching white robes and furry slippers, and often went to Orange Crate Brewing Company wearing onesies, said Madison Albert, one of Herrera’s roommates and friends.

Herrera and Jones had planned to visit Cuba after graduation in May.

“They were the perfect couple,” Albert said.

Several of Herrera’s friends said what they appreciated most about her was her honesty and openness. She was never afraid to voice her opinion, they said. If they asked how they looked in a certain outfit, she would always tell the truth.

Kelly McKeon, one of Herrera’s roommates, said she made an unforgettable first impression on everyone. When McKeon first met Herrera, they talked for hours.

Sierra Holland, who also lived with Herrera, said the first time she bonded with Herrera was during a discussion in their kitchen about feminism and intersectionality.

“She was just so strong and independent and unapologetically, 100 percent herself,” Holland said.

Aileen Gallagher, a magazine professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, had Herrera in one of her classes last semester. Gallagher said she was a hard worker who was curious and didn’t put up with nonsense.

Herrera, who was a public communications minor in Newhouse, was interested in magazine digital strategy and was passionate about how women are represented in the media, Gallagher said.

Brianna Herrera and her boyfriend Shareif Jones had planned to travel to Cuba after graduation. Courtesy of Madison Albert

She also had a passion for fashion. All of her clothes came from either Urban Outfitters or thrift shops. Herrera had hoped to work in a tech position at a fashion company, her friends said. Last summer she was an enterprise technology intern at MLB, where she was one of the only women of color.

Colon said Herrera wasn’t the biggest baseball fan, but she appreciated how important the sport was in Hispanic culture. Herrera was proud of her Puerto Rican heritage and always kept the country’s flag in her Instagram bio, Colon added.

Tiana Gong, an SU senior who also met Herrera through Sigma Delta Tau, said Herrera was always humble.

“She didn’t let being successful change her,” Gong said. “She never bragged.”

Herrera would never tell her friends if she had an important interview coming up because she didn’t want to boast, Albert said.

But Herrera would ask her friends about their career searches and knew everything about them, Colon said. She cared about what her friends cared about, and she would research their interests just so she could talk about them.

“She was always there for you,” Colon said.

Published on January 28, 2019 at 12:17 am

Contact Casey: casey@dailyorange.com | @caseydarnell_