Journalism grad among victims of Flight 3407
Ronald Gonzalez, 44, a 2002 journalism graduate and director of the Youth Services Program in New Brunswick, N.J., was among the passengers who died in the crash of Flight 3407 near Buffalo on Feb. 13. He was en route to Buffalo for a family visit.
"Ron was and remained dedicated to improving others' lives," recalls Janet Kaye, Gonzalez' academic adviser and teacher. "When he took my Journalism course, he was employed full-time in AIDS prevention outreach. At the time of his death, he was director of a school-based youth services program in New Brunswick. That program, he wrote me, was dedicated to improving students' mental health and keeping them in school."
Gonzalez fomerly led Alianza Latina, a health outreach organization focused on AIDS/HIV in Buffalo's Latino community. As a Buffalo State College student, GOnzalez worked as a community educator for AIDS Community Services of Western New York, and while still a student, was named director of prevention and outreach services there.