Eric Cuesta, 16, passed away on Wednesday, December 4th, 2013. Eric was a member of AS220 Youth. He will be missed, always. The following remembrance was written by AS220 Youth Director Anne Kugler along with students from the program.

AS220 Youth is devastated to lose our old friend, Eric Cuesta. Eric was killed by a gunman near his home, and we’re struggling to wrap our heads around this event – and the fact that he’s gone.

Eric joined AS220 Youth in 2011, starting out in graphic design classes with Jeremy. Since then, he’s made paintings and drawings was planning a new mural for Anne’s office.

Eric was always helpful around the Studio and looking for ways to do more. He even jumped in on seriously boring tasks like making copies of our expense reports and creating data spreadsheets.

Eric was a jedi master of the pokerface. It could be hard to know what he was thinking, or if he was joking. Usually he WAS joking and having fun. Eventually he’d crack a smile, and everything would feel right in the world.

My favorite thing about Eric was that he also tried to see how long he could look at me without laughing. He always failed. He was such a nice kid. He will truly be missed.  – Milly N.

Eric, your smile was the shine to the everyday I saw you. May your soul rest in paradise.   – Stephanie C.

A thousand words can’t explain how I felt about Eric. Eric was a person you can trust, love, and depend on. He was a really good friend, one of the best! May his soul rest in peace. I love you, Eric…. –  Ashley S.

My favorite thing about Eric was the fact that when someone was down, he would cheer them up with his big smile. Eric was always funny and will always be funny. Words can’t explain what happened to him. He was such a nice person, and I will truly miss him. May his soul rest in peace. – Jesus N.

The funniest moment with Eric was when he, Jason and I went to BJs to buy snacks and supplies for the studio.  There was a lot of running around, grabbing bags of candy and rolling down the aisle on a shopping cart.  When we were leaving, he buried Jason under all the snacks we bought and somehow convinced me to let them eat all the oreos on the way back to the studio!

Another great thing was seeing Eric when he got excited about making art.  Whenever he found something he was psyched to do, his whole personality changed and it sometimes seemed like he was a younger boy!   – Gianna