Campus mourns death of senior student

Campus is left mourning the death of senior music business major Zak Haubrich, who was involved in a head-on collision Dec. 14 while driving to his hometown of Quincy.

Haubrich was a member of the Bradley Symphonic Winds, Jazz Ensemble, Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, Hilltop Studios and Musicians in Business.

“He made friends everywhere in all of his activities, all the time,” Lacey Hagerbaumer, Zak’s girlfriend of four years, said. “There was never anybody on campus that he wouldn’t talk to or be nice to or try to get to know. He loved everybody.”

Hagerbaumer, a senior mathematics major, said Haubrich’s popularity on campus was evident during his hometown visitation.

“There were a few cards that [the Haubrich family] got from different people who had maybe only met him one time or two times, and they talked about how much he impacted their life,” Hagerbaumer said.

Haubrich’s uncle Mark Bigelow also said an overwhelming number of Bradley individuals attended Haubrich’s funeral.

“The entire family was terribly impressed and very, very appreciative of the whole Bradley student body,” Bigelow said. “It’s very apparent that they took Zak under their wing … we can’t really express how appreciative we are of that.”

Molly Sloter, staff accompanist in the Department of Music, said she thinks Haubrich’s legacy is about showing people the benefit of being kind to others.

“I ask myself, ‘Why am I this upset?'” Molly said. “I’m old; I’ve been through this before, but Zak just really had a presence here in our community. That’s what makes it such a deep hurt on so many levels … you need to fight the good fight and do the right thing because that’s what Zak did, and that’s why this is so hard.”

Senior music performance major Maggie Sloter said Haubrich was one of her closest friends, and their relationship changed last semester as they headed into their senior year at Bradley.

“We became less of trouble makers—well, I still had problems with my amount of talking or being distracting during rehearsals—but I can’t even tell you the amount of times he told me, ‘You’re not a screw up,’ and that, ‘It’s OK,'” Maggie said. “He was so supportive, but he was so smart and driven, too, and he was goofy. It was such an odd mix.”

Maggie said Haubrich helped push her and other students academically.

“He was really a model student,” Maggie said. “He took classes that he didn’t have to take because he wanted to take them, and then we took them together and it was so fun. More than anything, I want his work ethic and workmanship to [be remembered and] push other people.”

Director of Jazz Ensemble Todd Kelly also noted Haubrich’s passion for school.

“Zak is the embodiment of the kind of student I love to teach,” Kelly said. “He was very positive, very polite and a respectful student. I never had any interaction with him that wasn’t positive.”

Coming back to campus after holiday break was an adjustment for the ensemble, according to Maggie.

“I was running the Jazz Ensemble when [Kelly] wasn’t here and I was like, ‘We are still going to keep a chair out on the stage for him. He’s still here,'” Maggie said. “It’s been a very strange shift of environment. I just wish he was here.”

Maggie said while she planned for Haubrich to be the crazy uncle to her kids, to play in the band at her wedding and to act as the godfather to her children, she was lucky to have known him.

“I’m just really thankful for the time that we did have together because, while he’s not physically here, I will always have all those pictures and all those recordings and all these memories,” Maggie said.

Haubrich’s Delta Sigma Phi brothers set up a GoFundMe page to help with the Haubrich family’s financial expenses, and they have raised over $2,300.

“We would first and foremost do anything for any brother,” Preston Scheel, Delta Sigma Phi brother, said. “We wanted to help ease the pain of the family in some measurable way.”