BU alum dies at 22, leaves behind legacy of hope

Many students at Boston University saw alumnus Kyle Trotman as a true friend and a leader among students. Trotman, a Class of 2011 graduate, died of “heart failure” on Monday night in Brooklyn, N.Y., according to his family members.

His uncle Regis Gill said he and other family members took Trotman, 22, to the hospital on Monday when he said he wasn’t feeling well. Trotman wound up in the Intensive Care Unit and suffered heart failure.

Since he was a child, Trotman struck people as a determined person who was bound to succeed, Gill said.

“Kyle has been a go-getter from very small,” he said. “He was always the one who will try to do things that the average kid doesn’t want to do. He was ambitious from a very young age.”

Trotman earned his degree in economics from the College of Arts and Sciences, according to his LinkedIn profile. After graduation he secured a job as a research analyst at JP Morgan Chase Bank.

Throughout college, he worked at the Howard Thurman Center as a student ambassador of its Cultural Mentorship Program and a program called 100 Black Men Who Care About BU. He was also a student ambassador for freshman orientation in the summer of 2010.

Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore called Trotman a “top-notch” individual and said, in spite of his personal hardships, Trotman maintained a positive attitude that inspired other students.

“He was someone who I think inspired a lot of other people because folks knew that he had struggles in his life, and he was also that guy you could go to for advice, for friendship,” Elmore said. “He’d always tell it to you straight, which is what I think people appreciated the most.”

BUniverse posted a video titled “The next Dean Elmore?” in May where Trotman cited Elmore as a mentor who guided him throughout his time at BU.

“Everything about BU reminds me of Kyle, from the marching band to the Howard Thurman Center to [the Student Village Phase II] where he often let me crash if I had an early class and didn’t want to travel all the way home,” said Joshua Reynolds a Metropolitan College student.

Reynolds, who called Trotman his best friend throughout college, said he will be remembered as a talented musician, reliable man and a loyal friend.

“I will miss him, but always remember him, for his spirit flows through the wind that I feel on a breezy day, and his soul sings hallelujah to every song with a beat you can dance to, Reynolds said. “Kyle’s soul and spirit will never die.”

“If I could envision a leader, Kyle is the person I could envision,” said CAS sophomore Quanesha Boykins. “He’s the kind of person who could lead you in the right way.”

Boykins met Trotman at orientation the summer before her freshman year, when he worked as a student ambassador. They kept in touch throughout her freshman year, and Boykins said he offered her support, including when she applied to become a student ambassador.

“I told him I didn’t get the job, but that they told me to try again, that they saw potential in me,” Boykins said. “He said ‘I think you should go out for it again.’ He was very encouraging, and he was proud that I had gone out for it in the first place.

“He was BU to me. He was the person that I felt I had to go to and talk to whenever I had issues.”

Raul Fernandez, assistant director of the Howard Thurman Center, remembered Trotman as a “great leader for the black community” at BU.

“His spirit and his personality really moved people,” Fernandez said. And for that reason, “He touched so many people in such a short time.”

CAS senior Sarah Bashein, who worked with Trotman at orientation, described him as a leader and a “fierce” friend.

“He would do anything for a friend, and he helped me through some really incredibly hard times,” she said. “He taught me about perseverance when that was the lesson I needed to learn.”

Trotman also left his mark in the BU Band, College of Engineering senior Patrick Brandenburg said. In band, Brandenburg said Trotman, who was an orientation leader at band, learned everyone’s names and remembered them.

“Even when he would be walking with a group of friends whom I didn’t know, he would take the time to shake my hand and say hello, and I’ll always miss that,” he said. “Though Kyle did not stick with band for much of the season after the camp, he was still a presence on campus who I looked forward to seeing.”

A date for Trotman’s funeral has not been finalized at this time. The family is currently in the process of setting plans for the funeral.

CORRECTION: Original article stated Trotman was 23, however, he died at the age of 22.