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ON October 22, one day before she was due to don her gown and cross the stage at UWI’s St Augustine campus to collect her Bachelor of Laws degree with first-class honours, Alexia Trim died in Colombia, where she had been receiving medical treatment.

The 23-year-old Belmont native had battled a condition known as Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) — an abnormal tangle of blood vessels that can cause bleeding in the brain. Though she endured health challenges throughout her studies, she only showed her classmates and lecturers her brilliance, humility and determination. She quietly endured her pain and suffering.

Trim’s passing sent shockwaves through the Faculty of Law and among her peers, who learned of her death via a WhatsApp group chat on the eve of their graduation ceremony. “While we knew she was battling a medical condition, no one realised how serious it was,” said one classmate. “She was always cheerful and full of life.”