LEE COUNTY, Fla. — It was a somber tone on campus at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) after 19-year-old Graham McGrath's body was pulled out of Lake Como Thursday morning.
Fox 4's Briana Brownlee spoke with McGrath's fraternity brothers off-camera. They said they are shocked and still trying to wrap their heads around what happened to their brother.
Students on campus feel the same.
"He's young, he's my age, he's a kid," said Josephine Palmeri, a student at FGCU.
McGrath had a birthday coming up next week, but days before he could celebrate, first responders pulled his body out of the lake on campus.
"It's very concerning, I mean I live 20 feet away from this lake and there have already been two other drownings a couple of summers ago," Palmeri said.
According to LCSO, McGrath was out on the lake with friends Wednesday night. He was the only FGCU student aboard the boat, and the only one of 14 who went overboard.
It's left students like Palmeri questioning how something like this could happened.
"He hasn't even had his life started yet," Palmeri said. "He passed, he doesn't get to experience anything else and now everybody has to move on."
McGrath was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Members described their late brother as extremely ambitious, and said he embodied what their fraternity stands for.
FGCU sent out a statement, which in part reads:
The entire FGCU community is devastated by the loss of Graham. Our hearts and deepest sympathy go out to Graham's family, the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, his friends, and all members of our Eagle community as we cope with this unfortunate tragedy.
Now, students like Palmeri want more to be done when it comes to safety at the lake.
"I hope in the future there will be more supervision," Palmeri said. There are no lifeguards at night and I kinda wish there were."
FGCU is offering counseling to any student who needs it at this time.
