On December 19th, we celebrated the life of Arnav Krishna ’20 through a beautiful memorial service at Central Moravian Church. Members of the Krishna family, Swain School, and Moravian Academy collaborated to create a ceremony fitting such an inspirational life as Arnav’s.

Among the speakers at the service was Arnav’s advisor Mrs. Amanda Jackson, who shared the following poem she wrote for Arnav:

Dear Arnav,

Whenever something happens that adults can’t quite explain,
When we don’t really know how to respond,
We say things like,
“No one prepared me for this,” or
“Why didn’t anyone warn me it would be this way,” or
“They didn’t give me a handbook for that.”

But for this—well, for this, there are
Volumes
Upon
Volumes
Written about every kind of grief.
How to cope, how to memorialize, how to heal.

But nothing in that library of books, poems, or songs
Eulogies, elegies, or essays
Quite captures your particular smile,
Or your fierce determination,
Or your effortless grace.

How could anyone who didn’t know you ever understand the uniqueness of you-
Your beautiful soul, your quiet kindness, your relentless positivity.
How could anyone ever articulate the specific absence of you,
The space left in our homes, in our classrooms, in our hearts.

And so, this is my promise to you:
In the days and weeks and months and years ahead,

We will fill the space that remains with goodness and warmth-
With stories,
With rose petals,
With light.

And in the small moments that conjure you up unexpectedly in our minds–
A glimmer of forgotten gold glitter on the sidewalk, catching the sunlight just so,
An Eagles victory, a 76ers win,
A sole cyclist on a country road–

We will think of you, and we will smile
Knowing that you left the world a better place than it was
Simply because you were here.

Upper School woodworking teacher Michael Brolly created an illuminated box that was displayed at the memorial service. Throughout the week leading up to the service, students wrote memories and notes on paper tags and attached them to the spokes of a bicycle wheel, as Arnav had been a nationally ranked bicyclist.

In a project organized and conceived by Lizzie Stifel ’19, Julia Reed ’19, and Dylan Carter ’19, students folded 1,000 cranes as a means of giving everyone in our community a place to put their wishes, love, and grief. The cranes were displayed at the service amongst multiple pictures of Arnav. The cranes are hung in Walter dining hall.

We join the Krishna family and all of Team Arnav in thanking our community for their outpouring of support and expressions of love.