Stanford mourns loss of three Business School students

Three students from the Stanford Graduate School of Business lost their lives when the car in which they were riding Friday evening apparently careened down a cliff off Highway 1 near Big Sur, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office confirmed today.

Confirmed dead are Viet Nguyen, 28, of Raleigh, North Carolina; Chris Sahm, 29, of Long Island, New York; and Micah Springer, 23, of Columbus, Ohio. The three men were reported missing Friday night after failing to unite with a group of fellow graduate students for a weekend gathering in Big Sur. On Saturday morning, Monterey County search-and-rescue crews located their car about 300 yards below Highway 1, just north of Big Sur. The three occupants had not survived. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

“This is a tragic loss for the Stanford community of three brilliant and promising students who had so much to contribute to the world, and lost their lives too suddenly and too soon,” said President John Hennessy. “To the families, friends and graduate business colleagues of Viet, Chris, and Micah, and all those who are also grieving at this shocking news, we send our deepest sympathies from the entire university community.”

Robert Joss, dean of the Graduate School of Business, said that the school's close-knit community was stunned and saddened at the loss of all three students.

“All of us are shocked and full of grief, and our hearts and prayers go out to their families and friends,” Joss wrote in a note to students and faculty. “We will prepare plans for the coming week to remember them, to share our grief, and to support each other at such a difficult time.”

Students who need support in coping with this tragedy are urged to contact Counseling and Psychological Services (650) 723-3785 (24 hours a day), the Office for Religious Life (650) 723-1762, or the Graduate Life Office's, Associate Dean and Director Ken Hsu at (650) 888-8496.

Nguyen was a first-year MBA student; Springer, also a first-year MBA student, also was a graduate student in materials science and engineering; Sahm was in his second year of the MBA program.

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