Georgetown mourns loss of sophomore

Michal Subczynski (SFS ‘06), a brilliant and ambitious John Carroll Scholar, was found dead early Monday morning in Virginia. The cause of his death remains unknown, but the U.S. Park Police are conducting an investigation.

Subczynski’s body was found on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a road that passes underneath the Francis Scott Key Bridge. According to Park Police Sgt. Scott Fear, a motorist reported seeing the body on the road at 3:21 a.m. The police called the paramedics and Subczynski was pronounced dead on the scene. University officials shared the news with the community via e-mail on Monday afternoon.

Subczynski’s friends remember his intelligence and determination. Bob Geng (SFS ‘05), who was planning a trip to Russia with Subczynski this summer, first met him when he recruited him for the John Carroll Scholars’ newsletter. He was immediately impressed. “He was someone who was very, very smart, who had a brilliant memory and brilliant analytical skills,” Geng said.

According to Geng and Max Taves (SFS ‘05), another friend, Subczynski’s first love was history. An international politics major, he wanted to pursue undergraduate research in alternate histories, Professor Bernie Cook said. But that strong interest did not remain in the classroom. “He loved to debate about history,” Taves said. “Some of his friends found that the only way to beat him in a debate was to create facts.”

Subczynski’s roommate Tom Parrillo (SFS ‘06) emphasized that he was always open and friendly. “He was phenomenal, he was the brightest person I’ve ever met and it was amazing because he was never condescending,” he said. “He would go out of his way to help anyone.”

According to Geng and Taves, Subczynski loved to be intellectually stimulated. As ardently as he loved history, he was also very close to his Polish and Turkmen heritage. Raised in Poland, he never lived in a Communist country, but he was fascinated with Soviet history. “He really looked back on it through his family and his friends as this kind of fantastical time period,” Geng said. “He had this nostalgia for the U.S.S.R.” Even his computer background was a picture of the Soviet army liberating Berlin during World War II.

Subczynski’s love of Russian culture manifested itself both in his ardent socialism-he was a staunch atheist-and his passion for Russian music. One afternoon, Geng remembers, he was listening to soft Russian music in his room when he got a phone call from Subczynski. After a short conversation, Subczynski complimented Geng on his taste in music. Geng was shocked; the music was playing quietly, and Subczynski was listening to it through the phone. But when Geng played more songs, Subczynski, who studied at a conservatory in Poland for six years, could identify every one after hearing only a few notes. “He said, ‘This is part of my culture, part of my tradition, part of my life,” Geng said.

Food was another part of Subczynski’s culture, and according to Geng, he loved it. When they were planning their trip to Russia, he said, Subczynski’s eyes lit up talking about the food. “For half an hour he would sit there and just vividly describe this mushroom soup that his grandmother made,” Geng said. “75 percent of the conversation was about which restaurants we were going to go to.”

All agree that Subczynski was ambitious, and he often stayed up late. “We would always be struggling to stay awake together in Political and Social Thought class,” Parrillo remembered, laughing.

Friends remember him wearing what Sophia Hartkopf (SFS ‘06) called “an almost classy but fun leather jacket.” Parillo said that Subczynski “was one of those people who would walk around with his head up.” He had a close-knit group of friends, but he was outgoing in his own way.

Geng said that it was Subczynski’s dream to be a diplomat. As proud as he was of his heritage, he didn’t have a Polish flag on his desk. He had a United Nations flag. “He used to say, his greatest fear is to be ordinary and his greatest dream is to be remembered,” Geng said. “He wanted to make a difference.”