Community remembers Adam Seo

Friends and classmates reflect and celebrate the life of deceased UI student

Students mourn the loss of Adam Seo in the Memorial Gymnasium Tuesday morning. Brianna Finnegan | The Argonaut

Although the University of Idaho community mourns his loss, Adam Seo’s memory carries on through the lives he touched.

Seo, a Boise native, was a senior majoring in chemistry in the College of Science and was active in the Air Force ROTC program.

Seo was in his third year with the ROTC program on a full-tuition scholarship. He was the physical training leader for the cadets in UI’s program and would lead the group in training three times a week.

“He would go above and beyond to help anyone and everyone he could,” said Lieutenant Colonel Brian A. Balazs, who worked in the program alongside Seo.

Seo died after injuries from a head-on collision which occurred Oct. 4, about 15 miles north of New Meadows on Highway 95. He leaves behind his parents, grandparents and an older sister.

A fellow member of the ROTC program and friend of Seo, Jerry Haldeman, reflected on Seo’s character on Tuesday morning at his candlelight remembrance vigil.

UI student carries a candle in memory of Adam Seo.
Brianna Finnegan | The Argonaut

“He was the ultimate wingman,” Haldeman said. “I was with him in Alabama over the summer at field training, and we already have so many comments about how much he cared about his people. His determination and eagerness to grow and succeed was overwhelming.”

When Seo was not busy with school and ROTC, he spent time helping other students excel by tutoring in science and technology coursework. Some of these students said they attribute his help to them still being enrolled.

“When I had events, he would come over and volunteer for most of them and just help me out with my homework or whatever I needed,” said Slade Castle, Seo’s roommate and close friend. “He was just always looking out for others.”

Students impacted by Adam’s loss and needing assistance during this time should contact the Counseling & Testing Center at 208-885-6716.

This article has been edited to correctly identify Brian A. Balazs.

Ellen Dennis can be reached at [email protected]

Leave a Reply

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.