Editor’s note: The State Hornet did not retrieve full names of those quoted in order to respect Tekle’s family and friends at this difficult time.

Kebret Tekle was not one to get angry over a missed step or fall. She’d shrug it off. She’d laugh. She’d keep on going with a smile.

“That’s the one thing I remember about her – her smile,” recalled Bernadette Bitanga. “She was always smiling.”

Bitanga, a mother whose children attended a Tae Kwon Do school with Tekle in the late 90s, recalled how the little girl with an incredible smile would team up with her sisters and peers to perform at the school’s annual talent shows.

“Every day after their Tae Kwon Do classes, they would practice their dance moves for a little bit. And it just came out wrong. And the girls would just laugh at themselves,” Bitanga said.

The picnics at Lake Chabot in Hayward, became a time when Tekle would brighten up the lives of those who knew her with her energetic spirit and optimistic personality.

“She’d always be laughing because she would always look over her shoulder, trying to figure out what the next dance move is,” Bitanga said with laughter. “It’s hilarious because she’s always laughing trying to get the dance moves down, get her part done right, and it just made us laugh.”

So when Bitanga discovered that the Sacramento State sophomore had died after a stray bullet was shot during an alleged gang dispute, she was heartbroken.

Tekle, who Sacramento Police say is an innocent victim, was shot when a fight between two parties developed in the parking lot of Library Eats and Drinks, a nightclub located across campus on Folsom Boulevard. Police said the fatal shot was fired when one of the alleged gangs was speeding off in a car. The bullet hit Tekle, who was in her car that was parked across the street. Tekle died at 5:55 p.m. the same day at UC Davis Medical Center.

“She didn’t deserve it. It’s such a sad thing to hear that one of my kids got hurt,” said Bitanga, who said Tekle was part of a close-knit family at Manila Tae Kwon Do, located in Union City.

“The kids were just shocked. It’s something they don’t take very lightly because it’s family to them,” she said.

“It’s sad that she’s gone. It’s hard to believe. She was loved. She was still remembered by us.”

The university held a memorial service to honor Tekle’s life on May 9. There, family and friends urged those who knew Tekle to cherish their memories of her.

“Though the weight of this pain is so heavy, and the death of my sister is so unfair, I want you all to please celebrate her life,” said Sessen Tekle, her older sister.

“Please remember her smile. Please remember her laughter. Please remember her kind, caring, nurturing, giving spirit. I want you to carry her in your hearts forever, because I know that’s what she wants,” Sessen said.

Tekle’s younger cousin said Tekle was more like a sister than a cousin.

Remembering Tekle’s creativity, she shared how the two, along with Sessen and Tekle’s twin sister Shewit Tekle, would make up game shows and choreograph dances to entertain their fathers.

One day, the two were “crazy” dancing on a mattress at home. A fall onto a nail hanging from the bed resulted in the development of a 2-inch scar on her leg. But she said Tekle kept “cracking jokes” so she wouldn’t be afraid of the injury.

“I’m so lucky and blessed to have a memory of Kebret engraved in my body and in my heart,” she said through tears.

A woman named Gloria shared her experiences as Tekle’s friend.

“Kebret, you remember the dance that I used to do for you? You asked me to do it for you that night, you remember? I didn’t want to do it, because I didn’t like to do it. But I did it anyway because I knew it would make you happy,” she said. “I can’t do that dance anymore. I can’t sing that song anymore.”

Another woman, who said she was Sessen’s former roommate, said the Tekle sisters, who are all members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, come from a wonderful family who embraces its Ethiopian culture.

She talked of the unbreakable bond she shared with Tekle and her sisters that stretched beyond their membership in the sorority.

“It was just so incredible, and it’s just indescribable because I was an only child, and I came into the sisterhood, and I came into a family, and they were so welcoming,” she said. “They were so beautiful?. They were just so full of life all the time, and it was just hard not to love them and not to want to be around them”

Bitanga said the family’s bond was strong even during Tekle’s childhood.

Four times a week, Tekle would attend Tae Kwon Do practice with Sessen, Shewit and their younger brother, and their mom would stay throughout their classes.

At Manila Tae Kwon Do, parents and students knew Tekle and Shewit as Cookie and Candy – an inseparable duo.

“They were hooked at the hip,” Bitanga said. “They introduced themselves as ‘I’m Cookie.’ ‘I’m Candy.” ?. You can’t just say, ‘Hi Cookie.’ You’d say ‘Hi Cookie, hi Candy.’ Because they were always together.”

Bitanga said she was happy to hear that Tekle was an active college student. “As a parent, you want that for your kids,” she said.

Friends talked of Tekle’s active role on campus at the service. Tekle served as secretary and ivy leaf reporter for the Eta Lambda chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She also helped establish an on-campus organization, Crunk For Christ.

The music of Beyonce – Tekle’s favorite artist – played throughout the service. The room was decorated with pink and green balloons, the colors of Alpha Kappa Alpha, and her friends and sorority sisters wore shirts decorated with her beauty.

“She was a beautiful girl,” said Monique Ford of Alpha Kappa Alpha. “She was so carefree. We love you. We miss you.”A poem, presented by another Alpha Kappa Alpha sister, described Tekle as “a guardian angel who always knew what to say.”

“She is irreplaceable,” the Alpha Kappa Alpha member said. “My guardian angel, I wish you could’ve stayed, but I know you’re in a better place.

Tekle, who loved sushi California Rolls without avocado and sugarfree Red Bulls, was also active in Sac State’s National Pan-Hellenic Council. Members of the council remembered her as a passionate woman full of life.

“We come here with heavy hearts,” said Edidiong Uwan, secretary of the council. “We will miss her passion and her love for life. She embraced all of us?. We are deeply saddened. (She will) always be missed and greatly treasured.”

Tekle graduated in 2004 from James Logan High School, located in Union City. During high school, she was a member of the National Forensic League, a society that promotes and encourages speech and debate, according to its website. She entered Sac State in fall 2004, where she was pursuing a career in Criminal Justice, according to a program released by her sorority. She was born on Oct. 3, 1986.

Nika Megino can be reached at [email protected]