The University of North Texas community is remembering a recent graduate after a weekend celebration with friends ended in tragedy.<\/p>\n
22-year-old Anurup Koduru drowned during an East Texas getaway.<\/p>\n
It was just a month ago that Ashrith Koduru was walking UNT\u2019s campus with his brother, celebrating Anurup\u2019s graduation.<\/p>\n
“He was graduating with a master\u2019s in computer science,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Now, he\u2019s reflecting on a life cut short.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was proud. We were all proud of him. He was the smart kid in our house,\u201d said Koduru.<\/p>\n
On May 29, Anurup was with friends at the Toledo Bend Dam near the Sabine River and the Louisiana border. It wasn\u2019t his first visit, but it was his first without his brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sleeping and I got a call from him,\u201d said Koduru. \u201cHe has his iPhone in his hand, and he was jumping into the water with the phone, and, he was laughing and, you know, and they were all dancing\u2026 I was happy looking at him, but right after that, in five minutes, I think I got a call that he had gone missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Sabine Parish Sheriff\u2019s Office, seven agencies assisted in the search, but it was too late.<\/p>\n
Koduru says Anurup was helping drowning friends when his foot caught on a wire that pulled him under.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would always try to help people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As a student, Anurup worked as a public safety officer for UNT Police.<\/p>\n
Sr. Vice Presidents, Division of Student Affairs, Elizabeth With, released a statement:<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026he exemplified dedication, compassion and service to others.<\/p>\n
We are deeply saddened by his loss, and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and all those whose lives were touched by his kindness and generosity. His memory will remain an enduring part of our university community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps that\u2019s why, in the wake of his death, donations flooded in to return his body to his parents in Hyderabad, India.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so happy that people and God and everyone is with me at this point,\u201d said Koduru.<\/p>\n
Koduru said his brother dreamed of traveling.<\/p>\n
He cherished the adventures they shared and plans more to keep his brother\u2019s memory alive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The University of North Texas community is remembering a recent graduate after a weekend celebration with friends ended…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28,398],"class_list":["post-330084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-university-of-north-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}