The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Woman, 21, among state’s youngest COVID-19 victims
NORWALK — Sheryll “Sher” Enriquez was a music lover whose tastes ranged from contemporary bands to music from the 90s made long before the 21year-old was born. She loved Kurt Cobain, Green Day, but also My Chemical Romance, Blink 182 and Hot Chelle Rae and often learned about music and new artists from her brother.
But most of all, Enriquez loved BTS, a pop band from Korea. A plaque will be dedicated to Enriquez in the unofficial “BTS section” of the Center for Global Studies program’s zen garden at Brien McMahon High School when the building eventually reopens. It will be a reminder of Enriquez, a 2017 graduate of the program, who died last month after contracting the coronavirus.
“Sher was the kind of student that brightened every room that she entered with her warmth, kindness, and smile,” said her 10thgrade English teacher Amy Gentile. “If I close my eyes, I can see her sitting in the hallway with her books, studying and chatting with friends. She was always there to cheer up her classmates."
Enriquez, a Stamford resident, is one of the youngest people in Connecticut to have died after contracting COVID-19. Enriquez died April 22 at Norwalk Hospital and it is not known if she had a preexisting condition. However, her death certificate only lists COVID-19 as the cause of her death, according to the state’s chief medical examiner.
According to the state’s data, only three Connecticut residents in their 20s have died after being diagnosed with coronavirus. Earlier in April, 18-year-old Yamin Pena, of Waterbury, died in Hartford Hospital with coronavirus.
Enriquez’s family said her death is a reminder that everyone should adhere to social distancing guidelines, even young people who are at a lower risk for severe complications from the virus. Her family is raising funds to hold a funeral for Enriquez when guidelines allow for social gatherings. As of Friday, more than 250 people had donated.
The 21-year-old’s friends and family are mourning the loss of someone they remember as warm and fearless.
Enriquez’s friend, Austin Chong, said she had a “unique way of showing affection.” The two would say goodbye to each other by each making half a heart with one hand and then putting their hands together to make the full shape.
“It was our little thing that we did,” Chong said. “We would joke and curse at each other like everybody else, but I couldn't tell you anybody else that I trusted more than Sher. She was a precious part of my life that
I will always remember . ... Nobody could make me smile when I was down like her. Maybe it would be a dumb wish, but I hope that wherever she is, she can continue to watch BTS and haunt them with the best views. I wish I could have had more time with her.”
Enriquez enjoyed traveling, including a 2016 trip to China as part of Brien McMahon’s Chinese program. Rather than wait to go with her friends, she went with a group of 27 students she didn’t know well because she wanted to travel as soon as possible, said her ninth grade social studies teacher Sadhana Bilodeau.
Enriquez dove headfirst into the trip, enjoying the Beijing arts district 798 and hunting for bargains in the Muslim market street in Xi'an, Bilodeau said. From there, she caught the travel bug.
“Whether she was driving solo across state lines, driving with friends to see a BTS concert or heading off to Montreal, Canada, Sher was not someone to stay put,” Bilodeau said. “She had to see the world.”
But as Enriquez traveled, she always thought about her family. Her ninth grade world literature teacher, Paula Fortuna, went to China with Enriquez and remembers she worried about her mom missing her.
“Even though we had the best adventure, she was so happy to get home to see her puppy and her mom and her little sister,” Fortuna said. “She was a true family girl. She loved her friends and her family. She considered her family her best friends. Sher was a beautiful person.”