UPDATED TUESDAY 12:31 A.M.

Christopher Ramos, a Sacramento State student, described as a passionate, gregarious individual who always shared a smile, died early Saturday morning in a motorcycle accident near campus.

Ramos, a criminal justice major, 2006-07 vice president of university affairs for Associated Students Inc. and a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, died at the scene, according to police. He was 22. Ramos was riding his 2006 Honda motorcycle at 3:30 a.m. Sacramento Police officer Konrad Von Schoech said a witness saw Ramos traveling at “a high rate of speed” when he lost control and crashed into a building on Howe Avenue near American River Drive.

On Monday, Pat Worley, executive director for ASI, said she and other board members were informed about Ramos’ death.

“He was a gregarious person, very outgoing and very passionate about the service he was doing,” she said.

Former ASI President Jesus Andrade recalled how Ramos added perspective and depth to ASI. “He always seemed to challenge my way of thinking,” Andrade said. “It was a challenge for me to have him around.” Other ASI members echoed his sentiment, saying Ramos brought a high level of commitment to ASI. “He was passionate about everything he believed in,” said Joyce Davis, last year’s graduate director for ASI. “He always pushed for students,” said ASI President Christina Romero. Romero noted that he also was very involved in creating more options for student housing, such as the new lofts being built at Folsom and 65th Street. Ramos initially became involved in ASI at the urging of Curtis Grima, current vice president of academic affairs, who encouraged him to run for office the following year. “He provided so much energy for ASI,” Grima said. Lori Varlotta, vice president of student affairs, said everyone in the office was disheartened to hear of Ramos’ death. “Chris was a leader with great potential and significant passion and he will be missed by faculty, staff and students at Sacramento State,” Varlotta said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to Chris’ family. We realize what a horrible loss this is to them.” In addition to being heavily involved in student government, Ramos was also passionate about his fraternity and was in the process of working to reinstate it. Vartan Vartkessian, chapter adviser for Tau Kappa Epsilon, said Ramos was ambitious in all he did and always tried to learn new things. “He’s just been an enthusiastic person, full of energy and always wanting to learn from me,” Vartkessian said. “He was really passionate about getting into politics.” Vartkessian described him as initially shy when they first met. “But his personality was very engaging,” he said. “He instantaneously just became really popular within the fraternity. It’s amazing how he’s been able to go on and just meet new friends.” “One thing that I’ll always remember about Chris is that he was always smiling,” Vartkessian said. “He always had a smile on his face. And he’d been through quite a bit.” In 2001, Ramos’ father and stepmother were killed by a drunk driver in a car accident. He was also in the car. “I think that (experience of being in a car crash) definitely motivated him to succeed,” Grima said. As a student, Ramos’ desire to do well was obvious, as he went above and beyond his teachers’ expectations. Sociology professor Kevin Wehr met him four years ago when Ramos took an introductory sociology course. He took a huge interest in the subject and went on to take every other course that Wehr offered. “He was one of those rare students who was truly interested in ideas,” Wehr said. “(He) was always eager to push the classroom conversation further, to play devil’s advocate and challenge his fellow students about received wisdom. He was not shy about defending his own ideas, and did so with fervor.” According to Wehr, Ramos took classes because he was interested in them, even when they weren’t required for his coursework, including a social theory class, which Wehr described as particularly difficult. “He was really amiable, really a gregarious guy,” Wehr said. “Easy to get along with (and) always quick with a smile.” Ramos’ classmates and those who worked with him agree. “He was so easy to get along with, to laugh with, to bond with,” Romero said. As vice president of university affairs, Ramos primarily dealt with a variety of student committees. He was responsible for organizing committees as well as meeting with established campus clubs and organizations. According to fellow ASI members, he was particularly concerned with both environmental causes and student and faculty rights.

Gamaliel Ortiz contributed to this report.

Natalye Childress Smith can be reached at [email protected].