'Bright light': Community gathers to remember West Salem teen

Quirky, kind, stylish, sweet: That's how many classmates remembered Serena Brenneman during a memorial at West Salem High School.

More than 100 parents, students, administrators and community members gathered near the entrance of the school Tuesday night to share their grief and memories of the 16-year-old who was last seen at a West Salem High School football game Sept. 16.

Brenneman's body was found in the Willamette River at 1 p.m. Saturday. Detectives said they found no evidence of criminality or foul play.

Brenneman's girlfriend spoke briefly at the memorial, recalling final conversations before she went missing. They urged those in attendance to use the name Serena, the name they said Brenneman had chosen for herself.

Salem Police and Brenneman's family have used the name Zackary, although the family in a statement encouraged others to use the name and pronouns their child had requested.

Brenneman's partner described her as elegant, soft and beautiful and expressed a wish that others had been able to see her the same.

"She really wanted to be like a princess," they said.

Others at the memorial remembered seeing Brenneman in the hallways or in the cafeteria during breakfast and lunch. Brenneman could be loud, they described, but always a joy to sit by. She had a unique fashion that few others could pull off and advocated for other LGBTQ+ students.

Brenneman enjoyed sharing Monster Energy Drinks with friends and had a love for the rapper Eminem. She made connections with others online playing video games and extended that same friendship to anyone at school. She was a flute player who performed in advanced band and marching band, and bandmates remembered Brenneman taking younger students under her wings, dancing backstage with others before shows to calm their nerves.

Brenneman's family wrote online about her struggles with mental health, and some at the memorial spoke about knowing of Brenneman's experiences with bullying at the school. Adults urged students to speak up against bullies and extend kindness to other classmates.

Sydni Hathaway, 18, was Brenneman's neighbor for seven years. She remembered telling Brenneman one day that her favorite animal was a lobster. It was a casual remark, but Brenneman later surprised her with a silver lobster necklace.

"I never wore it. But I'm going to start wearing it," she said.

Hathaway described Brenneman as a "bright light" and said she hoped Brenneman's death caused West Salem to acknowledge bullying more.

"We deserve more," Hathaway said. "I think there's tons and tons of changes that this school could make."

Emma King, a senior at West Salem, had known Brenneman for seven years and said she hoped other people could be like Serena, a person who didn't care about anyone's gender, race, religion or politics.

"She just saw the humanity in everyone," King said.

Brenneman was there for anyone and everyone, she said, someone who had a fun time and wanted everyone else to have a fun time, too.

"I think everyone should try to be like her," she said.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Community gathers to remember West Salem teen