Note: This message was originally sent on February 5, 2019
Many colleagues recall knowing these young men and the wave of sadness that hit the Gonzaga community after the tragedy that took their lives. Today, we remember Peter and Brian… their stories… and take great honor in providing annual reports to their friends and families about the students who receive support from the funds created in their honor. We are pleased to share with you about Peter Tripp and Brian Brett… “values that we foster here at Gonzaga”
Peter M. Tripp Memorial Scholarship: Established in 2005, 14 unique, individual students awarded
Brian Brett Memorial Scholarship: Established in 2005, 17 unique, individual students awarded
Pete Tripp was a graduate student at Gonzaga when he and fellow GU student and friend Brian Brett were killed in an avalanche while skiing on Lookout Mountain near the Idaho-Montana border.
Pete Tripp graduated in 2004, magna cum laude, with a double major in chemistry and philosophy. Pete believed philosophy was the foundation of human thought and behavior. He valued intellectual inquiry and authentic search for meaning. He was discouraged by how philosophy was undervalued and how little financial support existed to further graduate education in it.
Brian lived life as an adventure. He traveled to Patagonia for the National Outdoor Leadership School, returned to Bellingham and worked for the YMCA's Outdoor Adventure program for middle school students, taught swim lessons at Bayside Swim Club, where he was a lifeguard, and loved working as a Class IV River Guide at Wilderness Aware in Colorado in the summers. He was an honor student at Gonzaga, planning to graduate in Philosophy. He spent his Junior year in Florence Italy, studying philosophy and traveling Europe and Northern Africa. He planned to work another summer guiding in Colorado, return to take the LSAT, guide the winter season in New Zealand, and return home to attend law school. He said he wanted one more year of adventures, and then "I guess I'm going to have to make something of myself."
“Pete and Brian’s character embodied the values that we foster here at Gonzaga,” said philosophy Professor Ted DiMaria, “They were kind, considerate, thoughtful, and had an enormous vitality for life.”
The Brian Brett Memorial Scholarship began in 2005, with funds from Mary and Dean Brett as well as many other family and friends for worthy students with financial need who have a love for the natural environment and a demonstrated passion for the outdoors.
The Peter M. Tripp Memorial Scholarship was established as Pete’s legacy in 2005 with memorial funds from friends and family to help students, interested as he was, in graduate studies in philosophy.