Student's Life, Gifts Celebrated

But, as friends and relatives reiterated throughout the service for Jim D'Aleo, a third-year journalism doctoral student, D'Aleo wasn't a typical guy.

D'Aleo, 29, was a Park Fellow in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and died of cancer in late January.

The service included stories from friends and family members and a video memorial prepared by classmates. "Jim was Jim," said journalism Professor Cathy Packer, D'Aleo's adviser and friend. "He was the ultimate good guy -- honest, matter-of-fact, not intimidated by me or anyone else."

Packer recounted D'Aleo's dedication to his studies and how he took an exam just days before his death. "He just wanted to learn," she said.

Packer said D'Aleo studied independently while at home in New York for cancer treatment and never missed a beat while serving as a teaching assistant for one of her courses.

"He said he'd tell me if there was ever anything he couldn't do," Packer said. "He never told me."

Although there was much to say of D'Aleo's academic accomplishments, the bulk of the service focused on his friendships with colleagues.

Classmate Rich Landesberg credited D'Aleo for the sense of unity among the doctoral students. "The biggest gift that Jim gave us was us," Landesberg said. "He took a band of strangers and turned them into a family."

Classmate Patrick O'Neil said D'Aleo's life was a lesson for all those who knew him. "He made us look in ourselves, find our goodness and act on it -- he knew the best way to die is to live in pursuit of your dreams," O'Neil said.

Then, turning to a framed picture of D'Aleo that rested on the chalkboard rail, he said, "You stayed one step ahead of cancer, and when it caught up to you, you turned around, duked it out, toe to toe, until the end."

Although they saw him at his sickest, Landesberg said, friends and family would remember D'Aleo's trademark sarcasm and carefree attitude. "As I think of him reclining in his chair, feet propped and holding a soda, I want to tell him I will be walking with him at graduation, if only in my mind."

As the ceremony closed, D'Aleo's parents accepted the Adams Award for Excellence in Media Law on their son's behalf.

Journalism Professor Pat Curtin also introduced a new award created in D'Aleo's memory. "The James V. D'Aleo Award of Courage will be given annually to a student in the journalism school who has confronted a challenge (such as chronic illness) with courage," Curtin said.

Classmate Daniel Haygood, who plans the Thursday evening uptown happy hours that have become a tradition for doctoral students, gave D'Aleo an award as well. "Academic awards are really nice, but social ones are too," Haygood said, holding up a certificate. "Jim is receiving the happy hour perfect attendance award -- the son of a gun never missed one," he said. "From now on, when we go to happy hours, we'll raise our glasses to Jim."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.