Naomi Girma and Katie Meyer.Photo:Naomi Girma/instagram
Naomi Girma/instagram
Naomi Girma is remembering her “best friend"Katie Meyer.
Titled “This Is for Katie,” the soccer star — who attended Stanford with Meyer — shared moving memories and reflections of her friendship with Meyer, who was captain and goalkeeper for Stanford’s soccer team. She also wrote about how she’s keeping Meyer’s memory alive and said she’s dedicating the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup to her late friend.
“There are friends, and then there aretruefriends. Katie Meyer was a true friend, in every sense of the word. If you knew her, then I’ll never be able to do her justice. If you didn’t know her, then I’ll just have to try my best,” Girma began her piece.
Katie Meyer and Naomi Girma.Naomi Girma/instagram
After recounting a funny story about how Meyer went above and beyond to support her as she underwent rehab and physical therapy following a torn ACL amid the pandemic in 2020, Girma addressed her friend’s tragic death.
Girma described Meyer as “the first person you’d turn to when you needed to talk about yours. And the last person you’d think would take her own life.”
“Her death shocked the entire Stanford campus, and the entire soccer world. For me, and for the rest of her close friends, it left a void in our lives that is so deep that it’s impossible to put into words,” she continued.
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Girma wrote about her grief, and how it’s memories of the small moments — not the big ones — that hit her the hardest. “We won a national championship together. We traveled together on our dream trip to London to watch Premier League matches. We did so many cool things. But you know what I miss the most? I miss going to the Starbucks in the student union after practice to ‘grind’ on some homework with Katie and Sophia Smith,” she said.
Girma also reflected on Meyer’s legacy. “You touched so many people’s lives in just 22 years. You wanted to change the world more than anyone I’ve ever known,” she wrote. “So we’re going to make sure that we carry on your legacy. We’re going to make sure that your light never goes out.”
Naomi Girma (left) and Katie Meyer playfully pose for a photo.Naomi Girma/instagram
She then shared that she, Smith, Sofia Huerta and other USMNT teammates have partnered with Common Goal to roll out a mental health initiative in Meyer’s memory during the upcoming World Cup, set to kick off on Thursday.
“We know first-hand how many people, especially student athletes, are struggling in silence, and we want to use our platform in this huge moment for something bigger than soccer. It’s exactly what Katie would have done,” Girma wrote.
“Through this project, her spirit, her warmth, and her legacy will live on. We will make sure of that,” she continued, adding a final emotional message to Meyer: “This World Cup is for you, my friend.”
Meyer’s parents, Steve and Gina Meyer, also found a special way to honor their daughter. Last May, they announced during an appearance on theTodayshow that they’d recently launchedKatie’s Save, “a movement for change in our University system” and “a mission to support students navigating dynamics of campus life that may be complicated with added pressures of academics, sports, performing arts and other activities.”
The Katie’s Save movement’s “initial effort for change is to implement a University Policy designed to offer students an option to enable and require the university/college to send a notification to a Designated Advocate regarding instances when the student is involved in a situation that could evolve into challenging circumstances where they may need guidance and support.”
The goal of the movement is to ensure the safety and well-being of all college students.
“I think there’s a greater purpose,” Gina said of creating the organization after her daughter’s death. “We have to make something good come out of this tragedy, so if we’re going to be the ones who step up, we’re going to be the ones to make some changes — that’s how I feel.”
source: people.com
