Teachers remember Streamwood teen for potential

For those whose lives he touched, the potential Nirmam Vasanwala showed through his all-too-short 19 years proved unforgettable.

"Just about everything he did, he did well," said a shocked Greg Rouse, who coached Vasanwala on the tennis team during his junior and senior years at Hoffman Estates High School.

The National Honor Society member from Streamwood co-captained the tennis squad and urged his teammates to try harder.

High school counselor Mike Murphy said he never had to meet with Vasanwala's parents because their son kept his focus on school and his goals for the future.

"He was ambitious. He just didn't want to be a doctor, he wanted to be the best doctor," Murphy said.

A service was held Friday afternoon for Vasanwala at the Countryside Funeral Home in Bartlett. He died early Thursday after falling 12 floors from a balcony at Saint Louis University, where he was a sophomore pre-med and biology student. Vasanwala, a member of the Jain faith, was to be cremated.

There's no sign of foul play and the death is considered an accident, according to a statement from the university. The St. Louis police had nothing new on the case Friday, and said it remains under investigation. Police said the local coroner had yet to determine the exact cause of death.

For now, the mystery surrounding what exactly happened Thursday morning inside his university apartment has taken a back seat to thoughts of what Vasanwala might have become. Students voted the 2008 Hoffman Estates High graduate most likely to succeed.

"There's a lot of unknowns right now. You do your best as an adult not to let your mind wander and think of all the possibilities," Murphy said. "It's a loss, a tragic loss and I'm just trying to focus on all the positives he did and all the people he touched here at Hoffman Estates High School and his community."

Rouse remembers Vasanwala as an optimistic person. Rouse had difficulty accepting what had happened.

"This guy would go out of his way just to make people happy," he said. "He was just an all-around good guy and well-liked by the students and the staff."

• Daily Herald staff writer Eric Peterson contributed to this report.