Aug. 28, 2002--Mia Helene Sutphin HNS ’96, whose volunteer work with the Catholic Medical Mission Board took her to hospitals and orphanages in India and Kenya, died May 19, 2002, of a drug reaction while being treated for malaria at a hospital in Nairobi. She was 27.

After earning her bachelor's degree in nursing from UD in 1996, Miss Sutphin worked as a high school nurse in Aurora, Colo., for two years.

In 1998, she returned to Ellicott City, Md., where she was raised, and took a nine-month volunteer trip to Patna, India, sponsored by the Catholic Medical Mission Board. She was assigned to a hospice established by Mother Teresa, and she nursed the sick and terminally ill, as well as teaching young nursing students.

In 1999, Miss Sutphin returned to Baltimore and went to work in the neonatal intensive care unit at University of Maryland Medical Center, transferring a year later to the pediatric intensive care unit.

Her dream of serving in Africa led her to accept another unpaid assignment. In February, she was sent by the mission board to Nyumbani Orphanage near Nairobi, home to abandoned HIV-infected children.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be sent to the National Catholic Community Foundation, 2661 Riva Rd., Suite 1042, Annapolis, MD 21401, Attention: Brady Schildknecht. In the memo section, please note "Mia Sutphin Memorial Foundation."

Debbie Derwart, a friend of the Sutphin family, has asked members of the University community to assist in keeping her memory alive by nominating her for Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network. Go to [www.oprah.com], click on “Angel Network,” click on “Nominate Someone You Know,” click on the link at the bottom of the page and then fill out the form and in the box write, “I nominate Mia Sutphin, age 27, 9095 Furrow Ave., Ellicott City, MD 21402,” followed by any personal recollections.