By Irit Skulnik and Clay Ludwig

When Denna Pourshoushtari was stressed by final exams during her sophomore year at Towson University, she knew to call her longtime best friend Chester Brandon.

She found out that Brandon, a student at the University of Maryland, was just as stressed about exams. Pourshoushtari then spent $60 on an Uber from Towson to College Park because she and Brandon “just needed to be with each other.”

Pourshoushtari ended up staying in College Park with Brandon for four days. Together, they studied for exams, got breakfast and made dinners every night.

“That kind of describes our friendship that we had,” Pourshoushtari said. “It just showed that we just wanted to be in each other’s presence and that just made us feel better instantaneously.”

Brandon, a 20-year-old information systems major from Gaithersburg, was killed on Oct. 31 in a pedestrian collision, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department.

To many university community members, Brandon is remembered as a bubbly person and a great friend.

He knew how to live life to the fullest, according to junior neuroscience major Anika Subramanya who attended elementary, middle and high school with Brandon and later became his college roommate.

Brandon served as the vice president of administration for the Pi Sigma Epsilon business fraternity and was a member of the Smith Undergraduate Student Association. Brandon loved dancing from an early age and was a passionate member of GGWB, an Asian pop dance team at this university, Subramanya said.

He was working toward a plus-one degree in information systems and was excited about an upcoming business internship, according to Subramanya.

Around campus, Brandon was frequently stopped by people wanting to say hello. On a five-minute walk, Subramanya said, he would sometimes greet as many as 20 people.

“He would literally be friends with everyone,” Subramanya said. “Everyone loved him.”

Hundreds of students, friends and family lined the fountain on McKeldin Mall on Nov. 5 to honor Brandon’s memory.

One of Brandon’s friends, Manasi Agisgekar, a graduate accounting student, spoke at the memorial briefly and thanked Brandon’s friends and family for attending.

“We’re all here for each other,” Agisgekar told the crowd. “I know he would have really appreciated this.”

A line soon stretched through the crowd as people waited to pick up markers and write messages on a framed photo of Brandon. As the night wore on, attendees placed floating candles in the fountain in his honor. The sound of running water mixed with murmurs, cries and occasional laughter as people remembered their friend.

Pourshoushtari said she remembered Brandon’s passion for dance, music and art. Some of his favorite musical artists were SZA and Reneé Rapp.

Pourshoushtari exposed Brandon to more EDM and house music and the two loved going to raves together. She recalled one particular rave where they went to the back of the crowd and “danced like lunatics” together the whole night.

“That was something that I’ll always hold special, is dancing with Chester,” Pourshoushtari said.

In honor of Brandon, several fraternities at this university planned a 5K run around Lake Artemesia on Sunday. The fundraiser in his memory raised more than $13,000 as of Sunday. All proceeds will be donated to The VIVA School of Dance, a nonprofit organization that promotes access to dance education and is committed to centering young dancers of color, according to the fundraising website.

Esther Hong, a junior finance and supply chain major who was also best friends with Brandon, said he was passionate about travel.

Hong and Brandon went to Madrid in the beginning of summer before he went to Barcelona in August with Pourshoushtari. Hong said he was planning to travel back to Spain over winter break.

“When it came to traveling, he really wanted to look for things that the locals were doing,” Hong said.

Brandon also loved philosophy and art, Hong said, and was a fan of Claude Monet and Salvador Dalí.

As a friend, Brandon was always very supportive yet honest with his advice, Hong said. He would tell you what you needed to hear without sugarcoating it.

“I’ve really never met someone like him in my life where they just tell you what you need to hear over what you want to hear,” Hong said.

Pourshoushtari said Brandon was a kind and compassionate person, who was always there to offer advice or a shoulder to cry on.

Pourshoushtari reflected on nights spent cooking vodka pasta, laughing until their jaws hurt and sometimes eating lunch together during their middle school days.

“Chester was literally my world,” Pourshoushtari said. “That type of friendship that we had was something that I feel like is once in a lifetime.”

A fundraiser was created to go toward The Viva School of Dance and can be found at https://givebutter.com/ForChester.