IN MEMORIAL: Janet Rothenberg

Janet Rothenberg, a 19-year-old Pitt cheerleader who spoke fluent Russian, considered herself… Janet Rothenberg, a 19-year-old Pitt cheerleader who spoke fluent Russian, considered herself a “show tune geek” and had a truly uncanny ability for making and maintaining friendships, according to her friends and family, passed away July 18, only four days after realizing a long-held dream.

At the time of her death, Janet was traveling abroad on Pitt’s Semester at Sea program — a trip she hoped would bring her closer to her goal of visiting every country on the globe.

“Janet was just really interested in travel and, when she first heard about Semester at Sea, she knew she was going to do it,” her roommate, Lauren O’Connell, said.

On June 17, Janet left Vancouver, British Columbia, aboard the MV Explorer, the Semester at Sea program’s ship. In the next few weeks, she checked South Korea and China off her list of countries to see.

On July 14, Janet and a handful of other students left the Explorer for an expedition to the destination that excited Janet the most: the Great Wall of China.

“She really wanted to see the Great Wall. Just the idea of it — all the history really interested her,” O’Connell said.

The next day, while in Bejing, Janet began to feel disorientated and experienced severe headaches, according to her father, Howard Rothenberg.

Janet was rushed to a hospital, where she underwent a CT scan that revealed a tumor in her brain stem. On July 17, before she could be transported back to the United States, the tumor hemorrhaged, disrupting the part of the brain that controls breathing.

“It was quick; it was painless,” Mr. Rothenberg said. “She didn’t know what was happening.”

Her mother, Elizabeth Rothenberg, said the family has received more than 500 letters and cards of condolence, a fitting tribute to the young woman who, according to fellow Pitt cheerleader and former boyfriend Andrew Kimmerle, “lived to make friends.”

“She just had this combination of modesty and outgoingness that really attracted people,” Kimmerle said. “She always had a huge ground of friends.”

Janet Rothenberg was born and raised in Clarks Summit and, at the age of 3, developed what would become a lifelong interest in gymnastics.

“Her entire childhood was spent in the gym,” Mrs. Rothenberg said. “She just loved it, the excitement of competing, even from a very young age.”

Throughout childhood and into early adulthood, Janet practiced at Keystone Extreme All-Stars, a gymnastics center in nearby Dunbar, Pa. At the center, Janet became involved in competitive cheerleading and, by the time she left for college, she had earned enough medals and trophies to fill an entire bedroom closet.

In high school, Janet took four years of Russian language classes and visited Russia for a month through a school program, which sparked her wanderlust.

“She just loved seeing new places and learning new things,” Mrs. Rothenberg said.

In the fall of 2003, Janet left Clarks Summit to attend Pitt. O’Connell. Her freshman-year roommate in Sutherland Hall, recalled the first time they met.

“She moved in the night before I got here and [when I arrived], it seemed like she already knew everybody on our floor,” O’Connell said. “She just started knocking on doors and said, ‘Hi, I’m Janet!’ She was extremely outgoing.”

A few days later, Janet met Kimmerle when she went to Heinz Field to try out for Pitt’s cheerleading team.

“She was very anxious,” Kimmerle said. “She had never cheered for a sports team, only in competitions.”

In spite of her initial nervousness, Janet made the team and began a relationship with Kemmerle.

“She would come to my apartment at night and we would just stay up talking until 6 or 7,” Kimmerle recalled. He said they often discussed Janet’s plans to travel the globe and her interest in becoming a zoologist after graduating.

Kimmerle last saw Janet in April, during finals week.

“She hugged me and said that she was sorry she wouldn’t be at [my] graduation,” Kimmerle said.

Two months later, when Kimmerle learned of Janet’s death, he was caught in a state of disbelief. It still seems unreal to him, he said.

“Janet will be the most deeply missed person I have known,” he said.

O’Connell, who planned to room with Janet again this year, also could not believe the news when she received a phone call from Mrs. Rothenberg.

“I was completely shocked,” O’Connell said. “Janet was so full of this un-zappable life and energy. I just couldn’t believe it.”

At the request of Mrs. Rothenberg, O’Connell began calling Janet’s friends from Pitt, again emphasizing Janet’s warm and outgoing nature.

“Almost everyone I called thought of more and more people we should call,” O’Connell said.

Copy Chief Jessica Lear contributed to this report.