Samuel Lowe had a way of making people feel like their ambitions mattered.
When a first-year student told him about her goals, he immediately began finding ways to help her achieve them. When another student couldn’t afford to attend a conference, he quietly paid for their flight out of his own pocket.
To those who knew him, these weren’t isolated acts of generosity. They reflected the way Lowe approached his relationships, his leadership, and the communities he helped build.
Lowe, a 24-year-old Queen’s student and co-founder of the Black Undergraduate Coalition (BUC) died Sept. 8 following a mountaineering incident in Banff National Park.
According to reporting by The Jasper Local, Lowe left Jasper, Alta., on Sept. 7 for a hiking and climbing trip in a remote area of eastern Banff National Park. He stayed in contact with family and friends through a satellite communication device, sending his last message around 6 p.m. on Sept. 8.
For the Queen’s community, his death marked the loss of a student whose influence extended well beyond campus.
Originally from P.E.I., Lowe started studying at Queen’s in 2021 after receiving the Loran Award and being named a Chernoff Scholar.
During his time at the University, he became involved with the Queen’s Black Academic Society (QBAS), the Queen’s Black Clubs Caucus (QBCC), and the BUC.
But for Michael Angasu, HealthSci ’27, who lived with Lowe since second-year, the memories that stand out have little to do with his friend’s accomplishments.
Angasu remembers Lowe’s colourful floral shirts, his habit of rollerblading everywhere, and the countless nights they stayed awake discussing music.
When they first met, Angasu said Lowe immediately stood out. “He was very unique. And he was very proud of the fact that he was unique,” he said.
The two became close through their shared interest in rap music. Angasu recalled nights when neither could sleep, and they would drive across Kingston to a 24-hour A&W near the highway.
Over time the pair became familiar with an employee who worked the overnight shift. Before leaving Kingston, Lowe bought him a gift card as a thank-you for putting up with their late-night visits.
“That’s the kind of stuff he would do,” Angasu said.
Lowe also spent several weeks living with Angasu’s family. “He treated them like family, even when I wasn’t there,” he said.
“He would go to an extreme to help me out when I needed it,” Angasu said.
Lorenzo Yankam, HealthSci ’27 and co-founder of the BUC, first met Lowe through Black student organizations at Queen’s.
“Sam really treasured that community,” he said. “He treasured that moment of collectiveness.”
Black student organizations at universities across Canada were often addressing similar issues, Yankam said, but lacked a unified network through which to share resources and coordinate advocacy.
In 2024, Lowe helped establish the BUC, an organization connecting Black undergraduate student associations across the country.
In March, the organization brought together approximately 300 Black student leaders from universities across Canada for its conference.
The coalition covered transportation and accommodation expenses for students travelling from across the country.
“A huge goal for Sam was eliminating student barriers,” Yankam said.
Yankam recalled an occasion when the coalition had reached its budget limit for transporting out-of-province students to the conference. One student continued reaching out, hoping to attend. Rather than turning them away, Lowe paid for the student’s flight himself.
For JoyGold Goodluck, ArtSci ’29, a Queen’s student and fellow Loran Scholar, Lowe’s influence began with a question.
Rather than asking about her background or accomplishments, Lowe wanted to know what she hoped to do during university.
After hearing her goals, Lowe immediately offered advice, shared connections, and helped her find opportunities to get involved.
Their relationship developed into a mentorship.
Goodluck said Lowe never appeared concerned about keeping opportunities or knowledge to himself. Instead, he looked for ways to help younger students follow similar paths.
“He was like a brother,” she said.
Tianna Edwards, interim director of the Yellow House Student Centre for Equity and Inclusion, first met Lowe during a Black Welcome event in 2023.
Lowe immediately caught her attention. He arrived wearing a bow tie and patterned blazer, more formally dressed than anyone else.
“Every senior administrator I ran into knew Sam by the end of the two-day conference or had experienced a meaningful connection with him,” Edwards said.
She said his enthusiasm for learning was inseparable from his commitment to improving the institutions around him.
Meena Waseem, a Loran Scholar and advocate who attended Queen’s before Lowe, recalled his determination to bring people together through his advocacy. When Lowe invited her to speak about equity and accessibility at a BUC conference, she questioned whether she, as a non-Black person, should be addressing Black students on the topic.
“This is something everyone should care about, and I need to see that role modelled,” Lowe told her, according to Waseem.
She said his ability to envision positive change before others could see it was what she will miss the most about Lowe.
Following his death, Yankam said the support from students, University staff, and others who knew Lowe has been comforting. He hopes the BUC will continue building on the work they started together, guided by the same commitment to community that motivated Lowe.
“Sam lived to bring people together,” he said.
Tags
Black Undergraduate Coalition, QBAS, student death
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