School of Management senior Stephen Adelipour, who had an adventurous spirit and spent his life helping others, died in a fire in his off-campus apartment early Saturday morning. He was 21.

Adelipour, of Great Neck, N.Y., was outgoing and always had a story to tell, said SMG senior Jonathan DiBenedetto, one of Adelipour’s closest friends.

“He was always the leader when it came to adventuring,” DiBenedetto said. “It was a big part of his life. He was always the best storyteller when we got home.”

Adelipour, whom his friends called Stefan, had a knack for hospitality administration even though he was studying finance and law in SMG, DiBenedetto said, adding that he would make an effort to point out when hotels did not run efficiently.

“[He] always wanted to be in hospitality,” he said. “He always had a gift for that . . . . He’s a people person.”

A loyal friend conscious of those around him, Adelipour was not afraid to question authority and was skilled at getting what he wanted, DiBenedetto said.

“He was always out and about,” he said. “He was always where the action was.”

Adelipour studied abroad through the Boston University Sydney Internship Program last spring with College of Communication senior Zach Servideo.

“He became one of my best friends,” Servideo said. “He’d say, ‘When’s the next time you’re going to be in Australia? You have to enjoy every last day.’ That echoes in my head every day, especially now, and I thank him for everything I did over there . . . because he was pushing me.”

Adelipour had climbed mountains in California and traveled to Italy during summers, and he visited Las Vegas with DiBenedetto over Winter Break.

Adelipour’s RV trip through Australia with friends during his abroad program “encaptures his life,” DiBenedetto said.

“[He was] always down to trying something new,” he said. “Be surrounded by good friends on a great adventure.”

Adelipour brought people together with his humor and vivacity, DiBenedetto said.

“He was about making people laugh,” he said. “He was always laughing. He laughed at his own jokes. I think that says something.”

Adelipour had attended the Student Activities Office’s 100 Days ’til Graduation Party two weeks before the fire.

“I feel that everyone is taking this really hard because he was just like all of us,” said SMG junior Geoffrey Weg, who said he knew Adelipour through friends. “He was a great, normal kid, and he was the last person you would ever expect this to happen to. It’s just a real shame that all this is happening . . . because he was a kid with a really bright future.”

CAS senior Don Maselli said Adelipour was always willing to help his friends.

“If you had a bad day, he was someone to cheer you up through the little things that he did, whether he meant to or not,” Maselli said.

A funeral service for Adelipour will take place today at 10 a.m. in Great Neck. BU provided free bus shuttle service at 4 a.m. this morning, allowing more than 50 of Adelipour’s friends to attend his funeral.

“He was apologetic when he was wrong and humble when he was right,” DiBenedetto said. “I’ll always remember the little things . . . . He was one of my best friends. He was a good person, a man of his word.”

Adelipour’s family was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Staff reporter Barbara Rodriguez contributed reporting to this article.