A display set up last week in Ball State University's Architecture Building honors former architecture student Jason Omstead, who died in an automobile accident this summer.
Omstead, 28, died in the car accident in Indianapolis on July 24. On a Saturday evening, Omstead spent the night with some friends and co-workers. On Sunday, Omstead and a friend from work woke up early to get breakfast. At 7:29 a.m., they lost control of the car at 56th Street and Franklin Road in Indianapolis and were both killed instantly in the crash.
Omstead's display is on the third-floor in the third-year-student studio of the Architecture Building. It contains some of his paintings, prints and models, as well as photos and other contributions from friends. The display could stay up all year, and students can continue to contribute to it.
"Basically it was the students' idea," Diana Short, a third-year architecture student and close friend of Omstead, said. "Anyone that knew him, not just architecture students, can add to it and make it their own."
Short said architecture was important to Omstead.
"He was a very talented, good designer," Short said. "He found his place at Ball State in the architecture school."
Department of Architecture Chairperson Jon Coddington had Omstead in class when he was a second-year student and said he was shocked to hear about Omstead's death.
"He was a terrific student as well as a terrific person," Coddington said. "He was very much a leader in class. He had great generosity in spirit and was always helping out fellow students."
Omstead's former roommate Sarah Hoff, who is working on the display, said she continues to be impressed by her friend's talent.
"I lived with him for a year, and I hadn't even seen half the stuff," Hoff said. "He didn't like to brag about how good he was."
Omstead's friends remember him fondly. Anna Fraser, Omstead's former roommate and Ball State alumnus, said she appreciated several aspects of his personality, especially his honesty and kindness.
"He was a roommate, a big brother, a student, a peer," Fraser said. "He was so many things. It's devastating."
Hoff remembers how well Omstead interacted with other people.
"Remember the time he made a friend in the laundromat?" Hoff said. "He came home and he was so excited."
Hoff and Short also remembered Omstead's diverse taste in music. He listened to everything from Grateful Dead to Enya. He also had a good sense of humor, they said.
"He was really hilarious," Hoff said. "He had a great laugh, the kind of laugh that made it so you couldn't help but laugh, too."
For Fraser, the incident was a reminder not to take other people for granted and to appreciate what you have. From painting to making friends at the laundromat, Hoff and Short said they believe there is a lesson to be learned from Omstead's life.
"Nothing is guaranteed, and you never know what is going to happen," Hoff said. "Enjoy your life and do what you love - Jason did."
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