Georgia Tech student drowns while swimming in Chattahoochee River



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A sophomore Georgia Tech student drowned while swimming with friends in the Chattahoochee River over the weekend, officials said.

James Strock, 19, was last seen Saturday afternoon in the West Palisades Trail Zone of Paces Mill Park, according to school officials. The teams searched the twilight before turning to recovery efforts on Sunday morning, said Dean of Students John M. Stein in a letter to the Georgia Tech community.

A spokeswoman for Georgia Tech confirmed Strock's death Sunday night after his body was removed from the river just before 1 pm

Audrey Strock Lovetro said that his brother was swimming with friends when he got caught in the flow and started struggling. Her friends immediately swam to James, she said, and worked hard to save him, but did not find him once under the water.

Strock came from North Carolina to Atlanta to pursue undergraduate studies in computer engineering at Tech. He was particularly interested in robotics and quantum computing. He was to graduate in 2022.

According to Tech officials, Strock was originally from Uganda and had moved to the United States at the age of 16. He was an active member of the university community, attended a university ministry, and was often at the recreation center. Strock pursued a cooperative program with DataPath, a communications software and computer software company, in Lawrenceville during the summer.

"Jimmy was a bright light," said his family in a statement sent by email to AJC.com. "He brought laughter and joy to everyone he met and our life changed forever because of his legacy. We will miss him and love him for the rest of our lives, but we rejoice to know that he is with Jesus and one day we will see him again. "

His family will take Strock's body to North Carolina. Funeral arrangements have not been made.

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"On behalf of Georgia Tech, we offer our deepest sympathies to James' family and friends during this difficult time," said Stein in a letter to students, faculty and staff, which was shared on Reddit. "I'm in constant contact with his family and will continue to be there to help them."

A psychological counseling service is available on campus from 8:00 to 17:00. all week at the Counseling Center on campus and in the Student Services building. Students can also call 404-894-2575 for help after hours.

– Please return to AJC.com for updates.

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