Nepal earthquake claims life of former Malcolm X student

The aftermath of the massive Nepal earthquake that killed more than 2,500 people also claimed the life of a woman who studied at Malcolm X College in Chicago.

Marisa Eve Girawong, a base camp doctor working for Madison Mountaineering’s Everest expedition, died “in the aftermath of the avalanche that struck the base camp area,” according to a statement on the company’s website.

“Our hearts go out to the family of Eve Girawong,” Garrett Madison, the company’s president, said in an audio dispatch from Mount Everest also posted online. “She is loved by all of us in base camp and a great addition to our team and helped us tremendously. And she will be missed greatly. We are very sorry for her loss.”

The company described Girawong as a “physician’s assistant working in a Level 1 Emergency Room, with a focus on trauma and wilderness medicine.” It also noted that she completed her medical training at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in 2012. That’s where physician assistant B. Jang Mi Johnson of Chicago said she met Girawong.

Johnson said she taught in the Stroger Hospital/Malcolm X College program where Girawong studied. She called Girawong “the kind of student that any person in higher learning” would want.

“She had an air about her, like she was going to do great things,” Johnson said. “And you could sense that in her energy.”

Girawong began studying mountain medicine at the University of Leicester in England before her death, according to Madison Mountaineering. The company called her “an avid indoor and outdoor rock climber for several years.” It also said she had reached the summits of Mount Washington and Mount Rainier.