Katie Feriancek, a Minnesota State University student from River Falls, Wis., died Thursday of meningitis. She became ill during finals week, and was diagnosed at a Twin Cities hospital.
MANKATO — She came into their lives almost by accident. But after a semester of movie nights, jellybean fights and female bonding, Katie Feriancek became an unofficial member of the family of girls at 318 Plum Street.
"Katie jumped in halfway through the year," friend Angelle Theriot said, "and it was like she was always there."
Feriancek, 19, died Thursday of meningitis. She leaves behind two families — one mourning the premature loss of a daughter with a lifetime ahead of her, and another comprised of fellow Minnesota State University students who can't believe she's gone.
Feriancek returned home from Mankato on May 12, following the end of her spring semester classes. A Twin Cities area hospital diagnosed bacterial meningitis on May 13, and she died five days later.
By now, the concern that prompted the involvement of the Minnesota Department of Health has passed. Precautions were taken, her close friends were given medication and that thought in the back of the minds of some — the one that recalls the crisis of 1995 when a teenager died and 30,000 people were inoculated — can subside.
But for the young women at 318 Plum St. who learned a lot about Feriancek over the last few months, the hard part's just beginning.
Getting to know Feriancek was, by all accounts, a fluke. She came to the house one day in January with her fall semester roommate. When her roommate left without her, and Feriancek didn't have a car and was faced with the prospect of walking back to campus, she asked if she could stay for a while.
"She hung out with us all day that Sunday," said 318 resident Kristyn Hoemberg. "It was kind of random."
Then Hoemberg paused. And cried.
"It's really hard to believe," she says through tears. "She never said she felt sick."
The women in the house were contacted immediately when it was determined Feriancek had meningitis. The health department, through a systematic process that has proven effective over 30 to40 years, typically interviews the victim and the victim's acquaintances to determine who may be at risk. From there they can reasonably determine who should receive treatment, and in this case, all the women at 318 were given antibiotics.
At this point, none of them — nor anyone else — has shown symptoms. And health department officials say they have reached a point where, if anyone else had contracted the infection, they would know. In cases where health department officials can't determine who may have been infected, they notify and put the public on notice.
MSU offers vaccinations for students against meningitis. The vaccine covers four of the five known strains of the disease. Feriancek contracted the fifth.
There are four names on the lease at 318. But if you'd showed up at bedtime some spring semester day, chances are you would have found seven young women scattered around the house. The place is a magnet. It is where their circle of friends met, hung out, watched movies or crammed for finals.
Officially, Feriancek, from River Falls, Wis., was a resident of the Gage residence hall on campus. But her friendship with the women in 318 resulted in her being a regular, both day and night. She endeared herself to the group immediately, they say.
"We pretty much adopted her," says Theriot.
"Took her under our wing," adds roommate Melissa Hoiberg.
It is said repeatedly about Feriancek that she loved life, always had a smile on her face, and would do whatever she had to do to cheer somebody up. In the living room at 318 sits a full bowl of jellybeans, a reminder that Feriancek wouldn't hesitate to chuck a few at somebody who was letting crabbiness get the better of them.
She called everyone "Hon" and "Sweetheart." She had a sense about her, friends say, that even if she was in a bad mood — which was hardly ever — she could still put you in a good mood. She was selfless, a great friend and didn't take herself too seriously. She liked to work out, go rollerblading and listen to country music.
She was there for movie nights, and the Sunday night ritual of watching "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy." She was there for everyone, and never had a bad word to say about anyone.
She needed to be driven everywhere because, until the end of the semester, she didn't have a car. Her friends, upon picking her up, would jokingly hold their hands out and say, "Five bucks, please." But when she finally got a car, she volunteered to drive anyone anywhere to make up for all the rides she'd been given.
"I still don't believe it," says Theriot. "I still want to call her number and say, 'How's your summer?'"
On Feriancek's Facebook page, an Internet site where college students socialize and post photos of themselves and their friends, many of her friends are saying their good-byes. Many of the postings mention her outgoing spirit and positive attitude. Her friends say the comments on her site are 100 percent true.
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