Liberty remembers graduate student killed in crash

The prayers of the Liberty University community are with the family of Kristin Short, 25, a Liberty University graduate student who was killed in a car accident in West Virginia on Monday, July 4.

Short was on her way back to Lynchburg when she lost control of her vehicle on I-79, crossed into a median and collided with a tractor trailer. She was from Elkins, W. Va.

“Kristin was determined to make a difference in the world as a champion for Christ.  Her death is a great loss, not only to her family and friends, but also to this university,” said Liberty President and Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr.

Short was pursuing her Master of Arts in professional counseling. She had completed 42 hours toward the required 60 hours of course work. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Tennessee Temple University in 2008.

She worked as a child counselor at Strategic Therapy Associates in Lynchburg since September 2010. She lived at Parkside Grande apartments in the Cornerstone community on Greenview Drive.

Short was an active participant in the women’s and children’s ministries at Brentwood Church in Lynchburg. She was passionate about ending human trafficking and planned to go on a church-sponsored mission trip to Thailand in December.

“She was very committed. She was a very precious young lady — very devoted to Christ and ready to do something with her life to reach women who were sexually exploited, and she was taking steps to do that as her life’s work,” said Brentwood pastor Steve Pettit.

Short’s mother asked that all gifts received at Brentwood in Short’s name go toward the Thailand mission trip.

Liberty’s Student Affairs Office contacted Short’s family and roommates immediately after the university was notified of her death.

“We are comforted with the knowledge that to be absent with the body is to be present with the Lord,” said Mark Hine, Vice President for Student Affairs. “The Campus Pastors Office is partnering with counselors in the Student Care Office to provide outreach and counseling support to our grieving community.”