TUBA CITY — About 200 friends, parents and teammates gathered on Tuba City High School’s athletic field Wednesday night to mourn a star athlete and top student killed during her first year in college, far from home.
Teenagers gathered on a field where Mia Henderson had played softball, holding candles and taking turns telling stories about her. They laughed, talked quietly and sometimes sobbed loudly, crying on friends’ shoulders.
“I just want everybody to know that she was a beautiful person. She would never do anything to hurt anyone,” said D. Glasgow, a family friend and mother of one of Henderson’s close friends.
A male friend described the last night he saw Henderson, Tuesday, when she went running and then said she had to study.
He described her smile and laugh — qualities many others remembered well — as they spoke of her joking, easygoing outlook.
People are also reading…
She had prodded others to go to college. She had infectious laughter. “I tried to see her at 7 this morning,” the friend said. “I didn’t know I’d never see her again.”
He began to sob, speaking to the crowd by microphone.
“The hardest part was having to tell her parents,” he said.
Softball teammates chanted “Princess Mia,” their chant for her.
“This is so we can all move forward as a community as well,” said physician and gathering organizer Diana Hu.
Hu’s son had been in the same class.
The news of her death, she said, had spread quickly around Tuba City and the state via text message and cell phone.
Some of Henderson’s friends drove up from the University of Arizona in Tucson to attend the vigil.
Those who spoke mentioned her spirituality, with one person quoting her father as saying, “The Lord has this in his hands.”
One mother spoke of trying to calm her son, who told her he’d seen a puddle of blood in the hallway.
Other parents spoke of the fear of sending kids away from home, always hoping they’ll come back safe.
News of Henderson’s death also sent shock waves through Page, home of some teammates from softball tournaments held last summer in Denver and California.
Brittany Clark, a Page High senior, received word by text message Wednesday morning. She went to the classroom of her volleyball coach, Delphina Yazzie, and also summoned Yazzie’s daughter, longtime friend Micah Yazzie.
Clark and Micah Yazzie became so upset by the news that they were withdrawn from school for the rest of the day.
“I want to let everyone know that she was the sweetest person, and the shyest, but when we got to know her, she opened up,” Clark said Wednesday night. “We had a lot of fun times together and got really close as a team.”
Other Page natives playing on the tournament team were current UA students Courtney Wilson and Angie Amador and Southern Utah University students Melanie West and Lindsay Brown. All, along with Page High softball coach Rachael West, are expected to attend the funeral in Tuba City.
A favorite memory of Clark’s was a dance performed by teammates when Henderson got a hit.
“She had a signature move, the crab dance,” Clark said. “It was a lot of fun being with her.” Henderson was a biology major. A family friend and a fellow churchgoer said she had wanted to become a dentist after graduation.
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy
