An outpouring after death of beloved Wichita State student

Rowena Irani was loved.

Facebook messages make that clear. Over the past several days, people have described the 22-year-old Wichita woman as “amazing,” “great friend,” “so supportive and positive,” “sweet,” “vibrant.”

She was a psychology major and student involvement ambassador at Wichita State University and worked with children in need at Wichita Children’s Home.

This past week, she became a homicide victim.

“Our hearts are broken,” one person wrote on Facebook.

“Her life was stolen,” said her sister-in-law, Afshan Irani-Khan. She and her husband, Rooshad Irani, spoke about their sister at the family home Friday night, a home now deep in mourning.

Rowena was born in Karachi, Pakistan, lived in Wichita since she was about 10, became a U.S. citizen and graduated from Heights High School. There, she became obsessed with ROTC and went to drills at 6 a.m. “ROTC was pretty much her life in high school,” said her brother, Rooshad Irani, a Derby police officer.

“It kind of surprised us … because she was so small,” he said. The family joked that the flag weighed more than she did.

As a girl, Rowena fell in love with pugs, “said it was the cutest, ugliest dog around,” Rooshad Irani said. Since 2007, a pug named Max has been her dog. Max followed Rowena around the house and slept against her leg.

In her junior year at WSU, Rowena’s life was busy.

She worked at the Wichita Children’s Home, helping girls with serious needs.

In a statement Friday, Wichita Children’s Home CEO Debbie Kennedy said of Rowena’s death: “This has reinforced how very much Rowena was loved by her co-workers and by the youth she cared for. … In her warm and gentle way, Rowena helped them feel this was their home. Rowena didn’t just say ‘do your homework,’ she would lead the way and study alongside them. … One of our teens told me today that she has recommitted herself to graduating high school, because she wants to live up to the promise she made Rowena.”

Her brother remembers the little things about his sister. She was a picky eater, and two of her favorites were chicken and rice at Chipotle and mango tea at Quik Trip. He and his sister would go to QT for mango tea and head out for a drive. “That was our time together,” he said.

At WSU, Rowena served as one of the student involvement ambassadors, helping students to connect and enjoy themselves through activities. She welcomed students back to school this fall.

Kelsey Wulfkuhle, a 19-year-old junior studying psychology, met Rowena at a student ambassador retreat last spring. “I was like, wow, she’s a really cool person. I really appreciate her.” Rowena was a good listener. “She really cared about the person she was talking too.”

Wulfkuhle could vent her frustrations to Rowena. “And she would always find a way to make me feel better.

“She would always remind me that there are some things worse in the world than getting a C on a test.”

Chas Thompson, WSU’s coordinator of student organizations, said Rowena was a natural ambassador.

“I don’t think I can picture her without a smile. … She had a very wide reach on campus.” Another role she had: working with students with disabilities.

Even as an undergraduate, she was working on research projects. One of her main interests was trauma psychology.

Rowena’s sister-in-law said she had definite plans and dreams: go on to graduate school, get a beachfront house and have two children.

“She loved the ocean,” her brother said. “Loved the sand, loved the peacefulness of it.”

This story was originally published October 8, 2016 at 2:24 PM with the headline "An outpouring after death of beloved Wichita State student."