The University of North Georgia will memorialize three students who passed away during this past academic year in its annual "UNG Remembers Day" this week.
In a release on the school's website, officials said two students, Matthew Ryan Campbell and Conor James Rahiya, will be memorialized at the Oconee campus in Watkinsville while one, Ryan Bennett Joiner, will be honored at the Dahlonega campus.
The annual service has been held every year since 2017. Dean of Students for the school's Oconee campus, Dr. Michelle Brown, said it's an important day for students and staff at the university.
"UNG Remembers is a time to come together at the end of the spring semester to celebrate the lives and memories of those friends, family members and colleagues who have passed away during the academic year," Brown said.
Campbell was 19 when he died and was a sophomore who planned to transfer to the University of Georgia in the spring. Rahiya, who was 21, had transferred to UNG from Clemson and was a 2020 graduate of Marist School in Atlanta. Joiner, who was 29 when he died in June of 2022, already had an associate degree in computer science and was pursuing a bachelor's degree in cyber security.
Services will begin at noon Wednesday on the Oconee campus and 5:00 p.m. on the Dahlonega campus. The Oconee service will be held near the entrance to the campus while the Dahlonega service will be held near Memorial Hall.
Campbell, Joiner and Rahiya's names will be added to memorial markers on their respective campuses.
