Remembering Hanna Syed

By Tyra Watts | Published February 27, 2022

On Jan. 24, 2022, 28-year-old Hanna Syed was tragically struck by a car on North Avenue at around 5:30 p.m., in front of the Kean University Union campus. She was rushed to the hospital but sadly passed away that same evening after succumbing to her injuries.

According to local news reports from NJ.com and Patch.com, the person behind the vehicle was a 34-year-old man named Charles Carrier Jr. from Newark, NJ.

The Union County Prosecutor’s Office stated that the investigation is still ongoing and as such, no information can be provided about the case at this time.

Syed, a Queens, New York native, was a Kean Graduate student in the Physician Assistant program.

Dr. Carol A. Biscardi, the Executive Director of Kean’s Physician Assistant Program, and Professor Robert Adamczyk, Hanna’s advisor, had much to say about her.

“She was quiet but very determined,” Professor Adamczyk said. “She had a dream of becoming a physician assistant for many years, and this was something that she worked very hard to get to.”

Syed and Adamczyk first met during an online interview between the spring and summer of 2021. She did such a good job in the interview that -Adamczyk and Dr. Biscardi knew that they wanted her in the program.

Adamczyk was in his office when he found out the news of Syed’s passing from Dr. Biscardi, who had gotten the phone call earlier.

“We were both numb,” Adamczyk said. “It’s just like time just had stopped and everything just didn’t seem real.”

Adamczyk stated that he will remember Syed as someone who felt that a physician’s assistant was a profession where you could build strong relationships with your patients and that no matter what your dream is, you should pursue it as best as you can.

Dr. Biscardi revealed that she will remember Syed as someone who, despite the rigors and pressure of the program, always had a good morning, good afternoon, good evening, to everybody and you know, look for the good and the happiness that she said at that moment.

One of Syed’s former classmates, Stephen Husch, described Syed as a humane individual who made you feel like the most important person in the room.

“No matter what else was going on, she wasn’t the loudest person in the room, but when she was not there, you would know that she was not there,” Husch said. “Her impact was always felt by those around her.”

Husch knew Syed since last September, and they spoke briefly in a group chat before the Fall semester.

On the day of Syed’s passing, Husch was in an online Zoom class and everyone noticed that she was not present. Later in the afternoon, Husch had an in-person lab class when Dr. Biscardi and a member from Kean University’s counseling service came in and notified the class of what happened to Syed.

“The person from the counseling department told us that each person kind of grieves differently, and that reminded us that we may need time to ourselves, but to kind of remember that everyone was feeling the same way and to make sure we were there for each other as well,” Husch explained.

The passing of Hanna Syed raised questions about pedestrian safety and campus safety overall.

Husch has questioned the safety around campus as the campus community continues to grow.

“Another aspect that we’ve been thinking of is…like a question that comes up is how can we avoid this from happening again?” Husch said.

Meanwhile, a few Kean students had some concerns and how the university should take action after Hanna’s passing, including The Tower’s very own Victoria Cifelli.

“I just think it’s devastating,” Cifelli said. “She had such a potentially bright future as a physician’s assistant, she wanted to help people. As a part of the campus community, it is devastating that we lost such a bright student so close to campus.”

Kean University issued a Memoriam for Syed via email to all staff and students three days after her passing.

During the fall 2022 semester, Kean University will honor Syed with a white coat that will be given to her family at the annual White Coat Ceremony.

“Her legacy is more than a teacher or student at Kean, I think her influence is going to be more than just our time with her,” Husch said. “Her influence and her legacy is going to last… she’s going to influence our practice of medicine so that it’s no longer just one person, one Kean student going out to the medical field. We’re taking Hanna with us and taking what we learned from her.”

Nathan Weiss Graduate College | Credit: Kean University

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