This post was updated Oct. 15 at 10:06 a.m.

Friends and family of UCLA alumnus Helya Bahari Kashani gathered at a vigil on campus Sept. 28 to commemorate her life.

Bahari Kashani – who graduated summa cum laude in 2024 with a degree in psychology – died Sept. 3 at age 24. Bahari Kashani was visiting Toronto and studying for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) when an arsonist set fire to her family’s Toronto home, said Vala Makhfi, Bahari Kashani’s boyfriend.

The fire left Bahari Kashani’s mother, father, sister and 11-year-old niece critically injured. Her niece died shortly after.

The vigil was held at the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, where Bahari Kashani’s friends and family gave speeches about her life and the impact she made on her community.

“I had never met someone who was so willingly to quietly destroy herself for the sake of being kind,” said Daniela Guardado, Bahari Kashani’s roommate, in a speech. “I’ve never had someone who put me first so naturally – like it was second nature of her.”

Bahari Kashani has already saved four lives as an organ donor, Makhfi said, including a child who received her heart. Through her ocular, bone and skin donations, Bahari Kashani will improve the lives of up to 75 more people over the next five years, he added.

Bahari Kashani – who was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Service Award, the Jacqueline Goetz Alumni Scholarship and the UCLA Alumni Scholarship – aspired to become a doctor, Makhfi said. He added that he believes Bahari Kashani made a bigger impact than a doctor could have done by donating her organs.

“No doctor is able to take from their own organs and give to their patients, but Helya did,” he said in his speech.

Makhfi added in his speech that he remembers meeting Bahari Kashani when their lockers were across from each other in the hallway in school – calling her “way out of my league” at the time because of her popularity in school.

“Everyone loved her, but she wasn’t your typical, popular mean girl,” he said in his speech. “She was actually just so genuine and so kind that everyone just wanted to be friends with her.”

Melody Yazdi, Bahari Kashani’s cousin, said in a written statement that Bahari Kashani lived up to the meaning of her name – which translates to “sun” – through her kindness and warmth toward those around her.

“Helya’s ability to love so hard and make people feel so seen and heard was just innate within her and people were drawn to her because of that,” she said in the statement.

Yazdi also shared childhood stories in her speech, including how Bahari Kashani would walk around in her mother’s heels. The memory was an early sign of Bahari Kashani’s love for fashion, Yazdi said.

“She doesn’t care what people think – she just wears what she wants to wear, she says what she wants to say,” Yazdi said. “She’s someone with so much confidence and brightness, and she just radiates light.”

Bahari Kashani’s friends and family have raised over $166,000 Canadian dollars through a GoFundMe campaign to support her parents as they recover from injuries, secure legal representation and rebuild their lives.

Ethan Manafi, Bahari Kashani’s friend and a former Daily Bruin staffer, also hosted a LinkedIn headshot fundraiser for her family at Royce Hall. The fundraiser – which saw more than 200 attendees – raised $5,000 Canadian dollars.

Makhfi said he was shocked by the generous GoFundMe donations – and grateful to be supported by a strong community.

“It’s not just their daughter and their granddaughter that her parents have lost. They also lost their home,” Makhfi said. “The journey to recovery is not something that the hospital can heal.”

Makhfi added that he is also working to honor her legacy by having a medical school award her a posthumous degree and establishing a scholarship in her name.

“It’s part of the reason why she was so loved by the community, because everyone just felt so safe with her,” Makhfi said. “They could be exactly themselves – knowing that she wouldn’t be judging their character.”