Amanda, class of 2011
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

I have a box under my bed with a bunch of photos in it. There are memorabilia in there from all of my grandparents who have died. One of the hardest deaths I have had to endure was when my grandfather, Grandpa Ken, died of cancer. He seemed fine one day and then he was diagnosed with mesothelioma from asbestos, which he worked with at a company when he was younger. This destroyed his lungs and he quickly deteriorated. He was admitted to the hospital a couple months after he was diagnosed. Soon after he went to the hospital, my family was called while we were vacationing in Tennessee to come home to watch him die. This was all right before I went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I decided to commit myself to my schoolwork and ended up doing a lot of grief work at college to deal with my grandfather’s death. I have been in Students of AMF at UWGB for almost a year now and it has really helped me get through the losses in my life, especially losing my grandfather. It is wonderful when my fellow students tell me they like to come to the group to “meet others who know what they are going through.” I think this has been the most helpful to me about dealing with the death of my grandfather. Talking with other students who are like me is the best I could hope for and I would encourage any student to join Students of AMF even just to listen. This group surprises me every day.