Cal State Long Beach student and Delta Sigma Pi member Kentaro Wakasugi died of unknown causes at work Jan. 28 — two and a half weeks before his 23rd birthday.
Although friends said they believed Wakasugi’s death was related to an unknown health problem, Jennifer Barnsley, senior business administration major and fellow Delta Sigma Pi member, said there was no official report regarding the cause of his death. A coroner’s report could not yet be obtained.
Wakasugi was a Molina Healthcare systems administrator and studied information systems at CSULB.
“He was a force of his own,” Barnsley said. “When he walked in [to a] room, he simultaneously took it over and made you feel like he was listening.”
Cal State Fullerton nursing major Charlene Barnachea knew Wakasugi for five years and said he was one of the most easygoing people she’s known.
“[Ken] was never bothered by the little things that most people get so worked up about … he was always positive, always joking around, always laughing, always smiling,” she said.
Vincent Martinez, a CSUF civil engineering major who had been friends with Wakasugi for 17 years, said he admired Wakasugi’s intellect and it always made him want to be better.
“He was definitely the hardest working person I knew and I admired that about him,” Martinez said.
Barnachea said Wakasugi was cordial to every person he met, loyal to his friends, committed to his relationships and loving toward his family.
“One time, my car battery died on campus after one of our meetings [and] I was one of the last people to leave and, therefore, all alone with one of my girlfriends from the fraternity,” Barnsley said. “Looking for jumper cables, I called Ken because he was such a car guy [and] I figured he’d have some. He was already all the way home in Costa Mesa, but once he heard I was stranded on campus, he right away offered to drive up and save us.”
As a Delta Sigma Pi brother, Wakasugi held the positions of chancellor, senior vice president and historian.
“Ken was a very goal-oriented person who set his bar high,” said April Arihara, Delta Sigma Pi president. “After college, he hoped to continue to grow in his career.”
Aside from his activities as a Delta Sigma Pi member, Wakasugi enjoyed going to Disneyland, watching the Dodgers, practicing photography and playing volleyball. A volleyball player in high school, Wakasugi combined his love for the sport and photography to shoot professionally-made sport photographs for others.
“I’ve spent more money on camera equipment than I paid for all three of my cars combined,” Wakasugi said on his Facebook profile.
Wakasugi was dating his high school sweetheart of almost five years, Cal State Fullerton student Michelle De Castro.
“Although none of us said it out loud, my friends and I knew that the relationship Ken and Michelle shared was the type of relationship that all of us hoped to someday have,” Martinez said.
According to Barnsley, the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity on campus has set up a donation website to help raise the necessary funds for his burial.
“We are hoping to ease the financial burden on his family by raising funds for his memorial,” Barnsley said.
Those interested in donating can go to dspcsulb.celect.org/brother-kentaro-wakasugi.
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