IN MEMORIAM: Megan Dietz

Megan Dietz was a dedicated Ph.D. student studying the mechanisms of neural tube defects…. Megan Dietz was a dedicated Ph.D. student studying the mechanisms of neural tube defects.

But she was also working on perfecting her favorite drink, the Cosmopolitan. She had a never-ending collection of shoes, and she was an avid fan of the Steelers, the Pirates and Jeff Gordon.

“Megan was definitely about working hard and playing hard,” said Jeff Hildebrand, Megan’s Ph.D. adviser in the biological sciences department. “And she did both to the fullest of her ability.”

Megan died on Sept. 8 because of a massive pulmonary embolism – blockage of an artery in the lungs – that was the result of a blood clot in her leg that moved up to her lungs. The blood clot was originally caused by a sports-related injury in July.

The 24-year-old grad student will be remembered by her friends for her unshakable, upbeat attitude.

“She was radiant,” friend and fellow grad student Lisa Sproul said. “She was rarely without a smile.”

Megan was born in Butler, Pa., on Nov. 1, 1980. She graduated from Freeport High School in 1999 and earned her undergraduate degree at Duquesne University.

Megan loved to learn and read. Her favorite books were the Harry Potter series – which she bought religiously and read within the first hours of their release – and “Gone with the Wind.”

“She read [“Gone with the Wind”] so many times as a kid that the backing had to be taped with masking tape, and the front cover came off,” her mother, Penny Dietz, remembered.

Megan played soccer, ultimate Frisbee, swam and played softball in her church league. Her father, David Dietz, said that Megan did it all – except hunt.

“She used to fish with me and even help me with carpenter work,” he said. “But she tried hunting one day and wouldn’t do it again.”

Cooking wasn’t Megan’s forte either, joked her mother.

“She was great in science, but she couldn’t cook,” she said. “She was the only person I knew that could burn toast.”

Megan was an animal lover, a shopper, a “Sex and the City” addict – she owned all six seasons on DVD – and she loved music.

Her favorite band was The Shins. She constantly shared songs from the library of her most prized possession, her iPod, with friends.

Sproul found a list of songs titled “Music Lisa Would Like,” while going through Megan’s desk after her death.

Her friends all agreed that that kind of thoughtfulness characterized Megan.

“She was always ready to help other people,” Julia van Kessel, Megan’s friend and colleague, said.

She remembered Megan helping her study for tests – in her hot tub.

“Megan was a person who wanted people to have fun,” Sproul said. “Not just to laugh, but to really enjoy themselves.”

When it came to her work, Megan was dedicated and enthusiastic. Her mother said that after Megan broke her leg in July, she insisted that the surgery be done as soon as possible so she could get back to work.

“Her happiest time was when she was working at Pitt,” Dietz said. “She just loved it and was miserable sitting at home.”

Megan loved her graduate work, and it showed in her willingness to help around the lab and her curiosity to learn, Hildebrand said.

Laura Marinelli, one of Megan’s former roommates and colleagues, described her as a “self-professed dreamer.”

Marinelli recalled an interest survey that they were required to take. Each of them had to choose a color that best described herself.

Marinelli said that Megan answered, “Yellow or orange, something cheerful and energetic.”

After she broke her leg, Megan insisted that her cast be neon green – and that her outfits match that shade.

Former roommates Marinelli and Heather Hendrickson remembered Megan’s need for constant fun and excitement. They recalled, in particular, a hot summer day made cooler by Megan’s idea to set up a kiddy pool and make cocktails.

“Megan made every single day brighter,” friend Mick Yoder said.

Sproul said that Megan was much like Natalie Portman’s character in “Garden State,” a music junkie who tells Zach Braff, “If you hear this band, I swear it will change your life.”

“That characterizes Megan,” Sproul said. “If you met her, I swear she would change your life.”