One day, Jamie Klemczak decided it would be fun for her and her boyfriend, Jonathan Baker, to meet up in Parsippany, N.J., which she discovered was equidistant between her home of Albany, N.Y., and his home of Philadelphia. Two days later, the two took a trip there. He said the experience was typical of her spontaneity.

‘She really didn’t plan much at all,’ said Baker, an undeclared sophomore in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and a television, radio and film major. ‘But she found everything there was possible to do there. We went to a couple great restaurants, we went mini golfing, we went to a beautiful lake and botanical gardens. It was honestly one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had.’

Klemczak, a senior women and gender studies major at Syracuse University, was killed in a hit-and-run Saturday. Klemczak got out of the car to cross the New York State Thruway in Herkimer County after her car ran into the median when she was struck, said Frank Spatto, the primary state police investigator for the case.

Klemczak was described by friends and family as spontaneous, energetic, nonjudgmental and always happy. Her passion, which reflected her major, was feminism and women’s empowerment. Her mother, Nancy Bielas, said she always wore a smile.

‘She was born smiling with those big dimples on her face,’ Bielas said.

Her feminist underpinnings caused her to become involved in multiple organizations, including Vera House, National Organization for Women and Amnesty International. After graduation, Klemczak planned to travel the world and do charitable work.

‘She was really looking forward to graduating and really wanted to go on to do a career to help the community,’ Bielas said.

Her professors also noticed her passion for feminism. Robin Riley, an assistant professor in the women and gender studies program, said Klemczak had begun working toward ending oppression against women.

‘We, the world, have lost a bright, fierce, devoted activist who would have made a real difference in women’s lives,’ Riley said in an e-mail.

Dan Greenblatt, a senior international relations major, is working with the head of the women and gender studies program, Chandra Talpade Mohanty, to create a permanent memorial program for Klemczak. A prize for community service is one thing Greenblatt said he is considering.

Chao Zhang, a friend of Klemczak and a senior biotechnology and bioengineering major, said Klemcczak would display her feminism at unusual times. She would often take feminist stances in discussions about movies and people that her friends did not think related to feminism, Zhang said.

Her feminist views often would permeate into other aspects of her life. Klemczak worked at the Syracuse University Preschool and would often talk to her friends about the gender relationships and politics at the preschool level, said Joseph Prosnitz, a senior information technology major.

Her passion for museums and the wilderness caused Baker, her boyfriend, to describe her as particularly cultured. She and Baker went hiking together a few times, including during a three-night camping trip on the border of New York and Canada.

Prosnitz, her self-described adventure partner, said Klemczak would often call him at 2 a.m. to drive aimlessly. They recently took a trip to nearby waterfalls to go underneath them.

Klemczak also had an unexpected love of cooking Polish food, Prosnitz said. He said it stemmed from her interest in other cultures and her open-mindedness.

‘She didn’t really see color. She saw people,’ he said. ‘She was always interested in learning about people and their different attributes and characteristics.’

The day after Klemzcak’s death, Prosnitz said he and her other friends gathered to discuss the best way to remember and honor her. They decided to partake in the activities she loved best, he said.

‘We’d always talked about me, her and a couple other people going to Canada on a road trip,’ Prosnitz. ‘She was so happy sometimes. It was just a joy to be around her.’

rhkheel@syr.edu

Published on February 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm