Acadia remembers Sarah Hastings, who died after meningitis infection

Sarah Hastings had only finished one semester at Acadia University in Wolfville when she died this week after contracting meningitis.

But the outgoing athlete didn't waste any time. She was already "surrounded" by so many friends that her death left the school reeling, a university vice-president said Thursday.

"A member of Acadia's ringette and field hockey teams, she played with an intensity that was consistent with her personality: bright, funny, spontaneous and free-spirited," Susan Mesheau, the student services vice-president, wrote in a statement posted online.

"She was actively involved in just about every event in Chipman, often organizing and encouraging her housemates to participate. Because of her enthusiasm and willingness to help others, Sarah was loved by everyone who knew her."

The first-year student lived at Chipman House, one of the university's residences. Her roommate found her unresponsive in her dorm room over the weekend.

Acadia University will hold a memorial for Hastings, a business administration student, on Sunday.

Hastings was from Cambridge, Ont. Her parents and a sister met with Mesheau on Tuesday, she wrote.

"One of the first things they told me was how much Sarah loved Acadia and everything that is at the heart of this university," she wrote.

Hastings's friends said the same thing in remembrances posted online, calling her funny and friendly, and saying she had an abundance of school spirit.

Provincial public health officials are still waiting to learn more about the strain of meningococcal bacteria that infected Hastings.

The testing is done by a federal government lab, and the process was delayed by bad weather this week that held up mail service, said a provincial spokesman.