Student dies after fall from balcony

To friends, Shane Collins was a bright student whose promising future was cut short by his sudden death last week.

“He was the smartest kid I knew and still had time to be friends with everyone,” said no-preference sophomore Nick Weaver, a close friend of Collins. “You don’t find that very often.”

Collins, an accounting student, died March 13 after falling eight stories from a hotel balcony while on vacation with friends in Miami Beach, Fla. He was 20 years old.

A spokesman for the Miami-Dade County medical examiner could not be reached Thursday for additional information on Collins’ death.

Weaver met Collins while they were living in the dorms last year. He said Collins, a Clarkston native, loved being with his friends and was fiercely loyal.

“He had everyone’s back,” Weaver said.

Lindsay Kolesar, a psychology sophomore who also met Collins in the dorms, said she’ll never forget his unusual passion for Rubik’s Cubes.

“He had, like, three of them in his room and he and I would do them all the time,” Kolesar said.

“He always had one in his hand. He even took them apart and oiled them so they’d go faster.”

Collins had a large group of friends and always did his best to make others feel like a part of the group, psychology sophomore Hannah Cobbs said. Cobbs said she’ll never forget her friend’s smile and sense of humor.

“He was really outgoing, with a great smile, and was always energetic,” she said. “He could cheer up anybody and brighten up their day.”

Caitlin O’Neill, a social work junior, said Collins was a big, “goofy” personality who never wasted a moment in his shortened life.

“He made the most out of life,” she said. “It may be a cliché for some people, but for Shane, it really wasn’t.”

Friends said Collins had the ability to make average days spent hanging out in the dorms memorable. Whether playing basketball outside or concentrating on video games, Collins was always doing something fun.

He also kept friends amused with his ability to talk his way out of sticky situations.

“The only way I can sum it up is, Shane could get into trouble and get out of it faster than anyone else could,” Weaver said. “He would never have problems.”

Collins’ father, Tim Collins, declined to comment on his son’s death when reached by The State News on Thursday afternoon.