the Informer

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The University is mourning the loss of a fifth-year student.

Kyle Cofiell, 23, died in Glastonbury, Conn., Thursday. Friends and university staff are remembering the life of a student described as a dedicated worker.

He had most recently worked at Fox CT as a broadcast engineer and as a volunteer firefighter at the Glastonbury Fire Department.

At Fox CT, Cofiell worked with news director Coleen Marren working on the daily newscast at the station.

“He had a big enthusiasm for working here and he truly loved the engineering aspects, which I know he learned at the University of Hartford,” Marren said.

Marren first met Cofiell during location scouting for the Travelers golf championship in Cromwell and remembers his “bright smile and confident handshake.”

Cofiell originally worked as a part-time member of the crew at Fox, but a few months ago he was offered a full-time staff member.

“He was just delighted to be a full-time member of the Fox team,” said Marren.

He worked for Residential Life on campus, serving as a Resident Assistant for three and a half years.

Michael Malone, the director of the Office of Residential Life, also remembered that “great big smile.”

Malone had joined ORL a year after Cofiell had been a resident assistant. On one of his first nights at work on campus, Cofiell toured Malone around the Village apartments.

All throughout his time at the university, Malone described their work relationship as “easy-going and casual” and Cofiell would always be willing to ask questions.

Malone recounted Halloween last October, when Cofiell wore his firefighter hat on duty.

While most residents worry about their RA as an authority figure, “he had a sense of humor about it,” Malone said.

Along with his duties as a resident assistant, Cofiell devoted his time as a general manager at the Student Television Network on campus.

Ben Wilcox, the news director at STN Channel 2, said, “We were all shocked and saddened when we heard the news this morning…He was close to many of us who served on the directors board with him. He was a mentor to not just young members [of STN], but he also served as a mentor to many people.

“I always told Kyle, ‘You are the most accomplished 21-year-old I have ever met.’”

Malone said, “It’s a huge loss for Residential Life, STN and the University of Hartford.”

Vice President for Student Affairs Lee Peters said, “Kyle was an extremely active and engaged student…He will be sorely missed.”

Calling hours were held on Sunday in honor of Cofiell, at the Mulryan Funeral Home in Glastonbury, where mourners gathered to give condolences.

In an email sent out by Peters, his family requested that donations be made to STN Channel 2 on campus or to the Thomas C. Manager Training Center.

One of Cofiell’s last initiatives at the television network was to buy new office furniture.

Cameron Villers, assistant chief engineer at STN said Cofiell’s parents wanted him to “finish what he started, that was the last thing he was really working on.

Both Fox CT and STN Channel 2 aired tributes to Cofiell on their newscasts.