As the sun began to sink below the horizon, hundreds of students, faculty, and friends gathered beneath the Campanile to remember Celia Barquín Arozamena.

The light grew dimmer, and the stories became more personal as those who shared a personal relationship with Barquín Arozamena came forward to explain the kind of person she was.

The theme from the night was clear. It was repeated again and again by each person but summed up by M.J. Kamin, a former teammate and roommate of Barquín Arozamena.

“Celia was a friend to everyone and beloved by all,” Kamin said.

Barquín Arozamena was found dead at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames Monday morning. Collin Daniel Richards has been charged with murder in the first degree and is currently being held at the Story County Jail with a $5 million bond.

At 22 years old, Barquín Arozamena was finishing her last year at Iowa State. An exceptional golfer, she made headlines year after year as she garnered acclaim. Barquín Arozamena was named the 2017-18 Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year, the 2018 Big 12 Champion, and qualified for the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open.

Kamin said Barquín Arozamena’s work ethic and drive to win are what really made her successsful.

“Her desire to compete and win was the greatest I have ever seen,” Kamin said.

However, Kamin emphasized Barquín Arozamena’s personality and how much of an impact she made on the women’s golf team.

“We will not remember her just for her success as a golfer but also as a unique and one of a kind individual,” Kamin said.

Barquín Arozamena’s pursuits outside of golf and school made her a special person, one that Kamin fondly remembers living with.

“She loved to read and cook and would spend her time with those she held dearest,” Kamin said. “I would often come home to find her fully immersed in creating a giant feast in our apartment. There were more pots and pans in use than there were burners on our stove.”

Kamin talked about how her friend’s uniqueness often came through on the golf course.

“She always called our team the ‘Cyclonitas’, a kind of tribute to the Spanish language and also because in her words ‘it’s cuter,’” Kamin said.

Teammate and roommate of Barquín Arozamena’s, Amelia Grohn said Barquín Arozamena often lightened the mood and brought a fresh personality to the team.

“And in being her teammate, she never failed to make us all laugh with her quirky quirkiness,” Grohn said.

Others talked about Barquín Arozamena’s academic acheivements.

Despite constantly traveling across the country, Barquín Arozamena still excelled in her classes. She was majoring in civil engineering, which was no easy feat, according to Andrew Watson, a friend of Barquín Arozamena’s in civil engineering.

Barquín Arozamena’s academic success was also attested to by her civil engineering professor, James Alleman.

“She was extraordinary, and I was blessed to have her as a student,” Alleman said. “When I think about how hard she worked in her classes, her hard-working ethic was extraordinary as well.”

What really touched  Alleman, though, was not just Barquín Arozamena’s work ethic. It was her constant happiness and open personality that affected everyone in the classroom.

“Celia was in our classrooms; when I would look her way, it was not uncommon for her to smile,” Alleman said. “And those of you who are engineers in the audience, you might find that unusual. It’s not common for faculty to look in the audience and see a student smiling.”

Watson said that he found Barquín Arozamena’s openness and ability to make him feel welcome to be reassuring when he faced difficult times.

“On days I was overwhelmed with school, she was a calm and warm smile to turn to,” Watson said.

As night fully began to creep over the crowd on Central Campus, Carlos Negrin Bolaños took to the microphone to talk about Barquín Arozamena. Negrin Bolaños started dating Barquín Arozamena seven months ago, months he said were the best of his life.

When Negrin Bolaños first met her, he felt a spark between them that did not waver as time went on but, instead, only grew stronger.

“We knew in each other’s eyes that was no regular relationship. Not as friends, not as anything,” he said.

Negrin Bolaños remembered Barquín Arozamena’s last days, saying that she was an extremely happy person and was enjoying her life before the tragedy that occurred on Monday. Barquín Arozamena considered the Iowa State community her family, and it was what helped make her last days so great, Negrin Bolaños said.

“There is no line to write of what is family and what isn’t. The team alone, the coaches, the Spanish family, the faculty and every single person Celia touched in one extent to another you have been family to her. She has been extremely grateful, you know, to have a blessing such as that.”