Senior Katie Swanson passed away in her sleep Tuesday night due to unknown causes. A transfer to Stanford from Princeton after her sophomore year, Swanson was an alumna of Menlo High School, known for her ease in making friends.

“She had the presence to walk into a room and talk to anyone,” said junior Casey McDonald, Swanson’s roommate last year. “She had a smile that she just radiated.”

McDonald, Swanson and senior Sophie Gassee shared a triple in Kimball Hall during their junior year. Gasee spoke at Swanson’s memorial service and recalled the first time they met.

“At first, I was intimidated by her beauty, intelligence, outgoing nature, confidence and strong sense of self,” Gassee said. “But underneath this perfect exterior, I found much more. I found a genuine, loving, caring and compassionate soul.”

Swanson, a sociology major, spent the summer doing research on campus. As a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, she served on the Intersorority Council, and also worked as a tour guide. She hoped to one day become a professor.

“I believe that Katie was the most extraordinary person that I have ever met,” said Swanson’s boyfriend Bobby Fraser, class of 2005. “After a tragedy like this, it can be easy to throw around superlatives, but in Katie’s case, no compliment could be an exaggeration. She was simply incredible.”

McDonald described Swanson as extremely dedicated and driven, but also very thoughtful and generous.

“She was one of those people who was happiest when she was making other people happy,” McDonald said.

Gassee also said that Swanson was constantly thinking of others, once staying up all night working on posters for her younger sister’s student body election. In fact, Swanson would regularly leave bags of candy on Gassee’s desk if she had a tough day.

“Katie was exceptionally generous with her time, her money, her advice and her comfort,” said Fraser. “In the past year, Katie gave more presents, wrote more cards, sent more text messages and made more phone calls that made people happy than many people will in an entire lifetime.”

McDonald, who was abroad this past summer in London during the July subway bombings, said that Swanson was the first to call her family and make sure that everything was all right.

“She cared about her close friends in a way that no one else could,” Gassee said.

Gassee also transferred to Stanford for her junior year, but she and Katie quickly became best friends. During her speech at the memorial service, she explained the bond’s significance.

“I always thought that if something terrible were to happen in my life, I could at least turn to Katie for her support, wisdom and strength,” Gassee said. “She would know what to say, what to do and how to get me through it. And now, when the worst of things has happened, the one person I need most is no longer here.”

Swanson was originally from Hillsborough, Calif., where she lived with her mother and younger sister; her father died when she was young. Gassee said that Swanson was always very dedicated to her family and tried to make her father proud of everything that she did.

“Katie has touched, loved and been loved by more than a lifetime’s worth of people. And for that, she will never be forgotten,” Gassee said.

A service will be held in Memorial Church on Oct. 20 in Swanson’s memory.