Matthew P. Omans ’10 died on March 9 at the age of 24 after he was struck by a Long Island Rail Road train in Bayport, New York.
Omans was not authorized to be on the tracks when he was hit by an eastbound train at the Bayport Avenue crossing around 9:15 a.m., LIRR spokesperson Sam Zambuto told the Sayville-Bayport Patch.
Omans was a recent graduate of the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, where he concentrated in entrepreneurship. During his time at Cornell, he was a representative for Apple in the Cornell Store and a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
Nelson Conde ’10, who was in Omans’ fraternity pledge class and who was his roommate for two years, described Omans as an outgoing and devoted student.
“He was one of the friendliest guys I knew,” Conde said. “He had a crazy sense of humor. That’s what made him one of my best friends.”
Brad Lapoff ’10, who lived with Omans in High Rise 5 his freshman year, and who also knew him through Lambda Chi Alpha, said Omans was “always energized, always upbeat.”
“He wasn’t just a friendly kid. He was the single most happy and outgoing person I think I ever met,” Lapoff said. “He never said a bad thing about anyone. Everyone who met him liked him.”
Omans served as house manager, steward and ritualist for Lambda Chi Alpha, according to an obituary from the Raynor & D’Andrea Funeral Home. His hobbies included snowboarding and playing video games.
After graduating, Omans moved to Providence, R.I., where he worked as an account manager for AT&T Business Services.
Original Author: Dennis Liu