Alyssa Stecker, 20, a junior who hoped to one day help those suffering from HIV and AIDS in Africa, was found dead in her apartment on June 12.
Detective Robert Turner of the Prince George’s County Police declined to specify the cause of death pending the return of autopsy results, but he said police found no signs of foul play.
Stecker was born in Garoua-Boulai, Cameroon and lived there with her missionary parents until she was in the sixth grade and the family moved to Maryland.
Following the lead of her father, who assists African AIDS patients, Stecker had plans of returning to Africa to apply her various trainings in health care, said roommate Kandace Levy, a senior English major.
At the university, Stecker studied public health and kinesiology. She also worked as an emergency medical technician and as a lifeguard at DRD Pools in Towson.
“If anyone needed help, she was there for them, no matter whether they asked for it or not,” said Valerie Stecker, her younger sister. “I often went to her for advice, and sometimes just to share a laugh. She had a great sense of humor.”
More than anything else, Alyssa Stecker’s concern was for her family, according to David Dringenburg, director of the Youth and Family Ministries at Ascension Lutheran Church in Baltimore where Stecker was an active member.
“Her care for her sisters is amazing,” Dringenburg said. “Her younger sister idolized her and her older sister was like a role model.”
When Stecker’s mother, the Rev. Paula Stecker, was a pastor in the Ascension Lutheran Church of Baltimore County, Alyssa Stecker began singing with the youth group. She maintained close ties within the church community even after her family moved to York, Pa.
“Once you met her, she would truly do anything for anyone,” said Jennifer Morris, who works with the Rev. Stecker at the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in York.
In addition to her commitment to singing, Dringenburg said he will always think of her as someone who liked to swim, have coffee and talk to friends. Most of all, she loved loved to spend time with the people she cared about, he said.
“She would befriend anyone, make anyone feel welcome,” Dringerburg said.
Levy described Stecker as a loyal person who would do anything for her friends.
“She was the kind of person that never had a bad intention … She never went into anything trying to harm anyone,” said Levy, who once shared a house on her family’s property with Stecker, which they called “the tree house.”
But Stecker was also someone it was easy to relax with, said friend Caylynn Fahey, a junior art major at Community College of Baltimore County.
“We acted like little kids and had slumber parties,” she said.
“Sometimes we cooked dinner and watched movies,” Fahey added.
Stecker is survived by her parents Carl and Paula Stecker; her two sisters Valerie and Chantal Stecker; and her grandparents Ray and Thea Stecker of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Richard and Carol Leacox of Bettendorf, Iowa.
Contact reporter Kelly Wilson at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.
