A university student has unexpectedly died after falling ill at a Halloween party. Daniel Duyungan has been labelled a "gentle soul" by his family, as they paid tribute to him.
The University of Nottingham student was in his second year of studying Aerospace Engineering. His mother, Linda Duyungan, says his love for engineering began at a young age, with Daniel "always tinkering", NottinghamshireLive reports.
She said: "He was such a gentle soul, even me as a mum could feel that there was no aggressiveness in him, he was always very polite and tactful. When he was a kid, he liked tinkering, so I mentioned I think you would be very good for engineering. When all the kids were asked about what his ambitions are, he said he wanted to be an engineer just like his uncle."
In her touching tribute, Linda says her son looked to make his engineering dreams a reality by becoming a member of his secondary school's robotics club. She said: "They joined a competition, they were considered the underdogs, never even considered to be a forerunner.
"On the final day of the competition the parents were allowed to watch, I realised he was the driver of the robot where he had to battle other robots and these obstacles. They came first place, which surprised everyone and then won the chance to go to and compete in America."
After finishing school, Daniel studied a Btec in engineering, where he secured a double distinction and his place on his dream course at university. Linda said: "When he received his email for his second year he showed me the list of subjects, and I was looking at the list of subjects he was going to have for the whole year.
"I was already intimidated. I asked him are you sure you can manage that, but for him his reaction, he was drooling, he looked at the curriculum like it was a buffet as he was just so excited. It's very frustrating for me. I still can't reconcile the fact that he's gone, and he had so many plans ahead of him."
The University of Nottingham described the deceased as a "popular" student who will be dearly missed by students and faculty alike. Professor Sam Kingman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham, said: "We were heartbroken to learn the news of the sudden death of Daniel Duyungan.
"Daniel was a bright and talented student who was popular with both staff and his peers in our Faculty of Engineering, and he will be greatly missed. The tragic loss of a young life with such potential can be hard to comprehend and we are reaching out to our community to ensure that we do everything to support them at this difficult time. Our thoughts remain with Daniel's family and all those who loved him."
Following the news, of Daniel's death, his life-long friend Aby Bartolome, set up a GoFundMe page to help support the grief-stricken family with the funeral costs. The page has raised £10,875 at the time of writing, with almost 500 donations.
After hitting the £10,000 target, Aby said: "Thank you ever so much for all your love and support. We are all so grateful to everyone who has shared, donated, and sent their love and thoughts to Daniel’s friends and family. Thank you to everyone who have written tributes and kind words to remember Daniel by, for that we will be forever grateful. Thank you to those who have also reached out to us."
Alongside her fantastic fundraising, the 23-year-old also paid tribute to her dear friend. Aby said: "He was a really outgoing sort of bubbly character. He was the type of person that would walk into a room and then would walk out and be friends with everyone there. He was the person that everyone would sort of gravitate towards if you were in a room with him.
"He was really into music, and had got into quite a few instruments. He made different mixes on SoundCloud and liked making his own music and composing things as well."
Linda that her family are "surprised" by all of the support the fundraiser has received. She said: "We were surprised how quickly it just gained attention. Even from school, and all his classmates around here.
"He was well loved, he was not the type of person that they would think would pass on so early. Even the messages that are left there, some are from his teachers and one is his robotics coach.
"It's heart-warming, it's my source of comfort at the moment. I didn't realise how many friends, or more so how many lives he had really touched. He's just too good to stay in this world, and heaven called him early."
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