Drexler 'lived life with no regrets'

By: Jessi Kohn

Posted: 4/9/09

Derrek Drexler, a junior at St. Ambrose University, passed away on Monday, March 23, which was also his 21st birthday. Drexler died from a rare disease called Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis, also known as HLH. This disease attacks the immune system and kills off the white blood cells, which is what the body uses to fight off infection. When Drexler got mono, it was too much for his body to fight off.

Drexler was highly involved with Campus Rec and also helped out as a tutor at SAU. He was majoring in accounting and finance and had a positive dedication about becoming better at what he loved to do.

Megan Helle, a senior at SAU, was close friends with Drexler and attended high school with him.

"It doesn't seem real. I feel like I'm going to walk around campus and see his smiling face," Helle said. "I'm still in shock and disbelief."

Drexler and Helle hung out with the same group of friends. They liked to play bags and shoot pool together and they all got along great. Drexler also loved to play poker and was very good at it. He played tennis and golf in high school and recently was working at Crow Valley golf course in Bettendorf.

Drexler was a very intelligent person, especially when it came to numbers. Helle would ask Drexler for help on accounting homework and he never second guessed helping a friend out. When asked to describe Drexler, Helle said in high school he was a very shy kid, but when he entered into college he was completely different.

"He was almost like a ladies' man on campus and that is completely opposite from how he was in high school," Helle said. "He's just an all-around awesome guy."

Helle recalls a story from her freshmen year of college. Drexler was a year younger, still a senior in high school, and wanted to ask Helle to his senior homecoming. So the old, shy Drexler asked one of his friends to ask Helle to homecoming for him because he was too shy to ask, even though they hung out all the time. Drexler didn't seem to have trouble socially in college.
"If you didn't know his name, you knew his face because he was involved in so much," Helle said.

Beau Vesely, another high school friend of Drexler's, said he liked to always be doing something and never just sat around.
"He always succeeded in everything that he did. He lived life with no regrets," Vesely said.

He was seen as a very fun and friendly person who was genuinely interested in what people had to say. Dr. John Madsen, a communications professor at SAU, had Drexler his freshmen year in an Interpersonal Communication class. Madsen and Drexler shared a passion for accounting and Madsen said even after Drexler ended his class, they would still see each other on campus and retouch base about how everything was going.

"He was an outgoing, happy person who had a happy outlook on things," Madsen said.

Madsen was trying to help Drexler get a part of the accounting world by helping him set up jobs.

"I wanted to offer him a better opportunity to become a better accountant and he took the opportunity very quickly. That impressed me a lot," Madsen said.

He was seen by faculty as a very dedicated person who always worked hard. Drexler was very appreciative when he received things, but he was also caring towards others and everyone he knew. To some faculty, he was known as Dr. Sunshine.
"Friends and I called him Dr. Sunshine, because he always had a positive aura about him," Madsen said.

He gave teachers a good feeling because he was serious about becoming a better student and it made teachers enjoy having him in their classes.

Andy Milton, Director of Campus Recreation, worked with Drexler for the last year. He said that Drexler was very involved with intramural sports and was a lead student, which is considered one of the highest undergraduate student awards. Like many others, Milton saw him as a genuinely, happy person.
"He had a good sense of humor and is the kind of person who just lights up a room," Milton said.

Milton said Drexler liked having his hands involved in a lot of things and loved working for Campus Rec. Drexler was suppose to be the senior leader for Milton next year.

"I'm going to miss having him around. I saw him as a friend first
and a worker second," Milton said. "He will certainly be missed."
Derrek Drexler was someone who was always there for his friends and others. With school, his job and the clubs he was involved in, Drexler still found time to hang out with his friends.

Drexler's friends, professors and family are going to miss the way he was able to brighten up their day by just saying hello. His smiling face, his genuine and outgoing personality, and his overall presence will certainly be missed and not forgotten.