Kathryn Robertson '08 died after being struck by a train at a Rowena railroad crossing in Wasco County, Oregon on Feb. 7, the Dalles Chronicle reported Tuesday.
Robertson, 25, was found dead at the scene, according to a press release from the Wasco County Sheriff's Office.
The train engineer on duty alerted authorities to the incident, which was received by emergency monitors at 4:40 p.m., The Dalles Chronicle reported. Deputies and railroad officials are collaborating to investigate the incident. Robertson was found dead at the scene.
Robertson was the daughter of Oregon Health and Science University President Joe Robertson and Maggie Hewitt of Lake Oswego, Ore., according to the OHSU web site. The University has set up a fund in her memory for donations to be made to the OHSU Global Health Center. She is survived by her brother, Charles Robertson, a member of the Class of 2010 at Occidental College, according to the Occidental web site.
Robertson, who graduated as a Romance Languages major, was very active in the College's study abroad programs. In her time at the Dartmouth, she participated in three off-campus programs including a Language Study Abroad Program for Italian in Rome, Italy; the Portuguese LSA in Salvador, Brazil; and the Spanish LSA in Barcelona, Spain, Spanish professor Paula Sprague told The Dartmouth.
"She really took advantage of the study abroad programs," said Sprague. "Her energy and curiosity reflected itself in her love of Spain."
Sprague taught Robertson in a Spanish poetry course during her freshman year and said she recalled Robertson's unflagging "enthusiasm for life."
Robertson continued to explore her passion for Spanish language and culture by accompanying Spanish professor Isabel Lozano on the Barcelona LSA as a teaching assistant the spring after her graduation, Lozano said. Lozano, who is currently in Madrid supervising the LSA there, had scheduled to meet Robertson in Madrid, where Robertson was enrolled in a New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences program, Lozano said.
"[Robertson] was just a beautiful, wonderful person with so much to offer," said Sprague. "Her attitude towards the world was so open and explorative and I know that we will all miss that about her."
Scott Sorensen '10 met Robertson on the Barcelona LSA and described her "devotion for immersing herself and those she knew in Spanish culture."
"She was a very bright person," Sorensen said. "In the group, she would be the one encouraging everyone else to go out and explore Barcelona since she had been there before."
Robertson was actively involved in the Thursday Night Salsa group while on campus, according to several students.
"She was always looking for friends to take out salsa dancing in Barcelona," Sorensen said.
