ABOUT KRISTEN FAUST '00
Kristen touched the lives of everyone she met. She was dedicated to raising awareness about lymphoma because her father, Fred, fought the illness for 10 years. Before she died in 2006, she had been raising money and training to run in a marathon in Washington, D.C., for Team in Training.
Kristen was an athlete from the time she was a young girl growing up in Cold Spring, N.Y. As the youngest of three children, she would do anything to keep up with her brothers, Fred and Bob. It didn’t matter what the boys were doing; Kristen needed to do it, too. She played volleyball and basketball in high school and would eventually play both sports in college. During her senior year of high school, her basketball team won the New York State championship. Her leadership carried the team to victory, something that would be forever remembered at Haldane High School.
When she was 16, her father was diagnosed with cancer. During his 10-year fight with the disease, Kristen didn’t miss a beat. She ran her first TNT marathon for her dad. When it looked like he was getting sicker, Kristen quit her job in Boston and came home. She spent a year taking care of him, getting to know him, and doing everything she could.
Kristen attended Binghamton University, where she majored in psychology and was a two-sport athlete. During her four years of college, Kristen made wonderful friends and fell in love with Binghamton. She returned to Binghamton, one year after graduation, to complete her master's degree in social work.
In January 2005, Kristen was offered her dream job, senior counselor at the University Counseling Center. In this position, she would encounter and work with students every day. She was back in the place she loved so much. In March, her father lost his battle with cancer. Kristen realized through her grief what a wonderful life her father lived and what an important role she played in that. After his death, she knew how short life was and how important it is to be nice to all you encounter.
The loss of Kristen was a shock to all. Her mother Kathy wrote, “From the time she was a young child, Kristen had a smile and spirit that carried all through her life, right up to death. She literally never stopped smiling. She was a work of art in motion. Her main thing was her way of always thinking of other people. A few times I remember saying, ‘what about Kristen?’ She would smile and say, ‘Mom, it takes just a few minutes to be nice.” While Kristen is not with us anymore, her spirit lives on in everyone who knew her.
