The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN university student with no known health problems collapsed and died during an activity on his Ohio campus, shattering his family's plans to watch him graduate next year.

Joshua Knowles, 22, a senior at Central State University, was taken unresponsive to the emergency room at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. His family received a call from the hospital in the early hours of Tuesday.

His brother, Xavier Knowles, said Joshua had no known history of medical emergencies or health problems. The family does not know the cause of death.

"As far as we were told, it was sudden," Mr Knowles said. "He was doing some activity and he just collapsed. That's it. Then he was unconscious."

Mr Knowles said his brother was then taken to the emergency room.

"They also said his heart stopped, and they tried to resuscitate him; There was no luck,” he said.

The death comes after the family had already lost both of Knowles's grandmothers. His maternal grandmother died in April and his paternal grandmother in June. Knowles came home for both funerals.

Mr Knowles spoke to The Tribune yesterday from the airport as he left for Ohio. There, the family must identify his brother, arrange for his body to be transported to The Bahamas and pack up his dorm room.

Although the family has received an outpouring of support from Knowles's fraternity and friends in Ohio, they are experiencing a wave of emotions.

Mr Knowles described his younger brother as a driven student who stayed close to his family while studying abroad.

"We had a very close relationship with Joshua," he said. "We would be on video calls with him almost every single day during the day."

He said he, his mother and his brother would talk about school and life on those calls.

The family had been preparing to attend Knowles's graduation next year.

"That's not going to happen," Mr Knowles said. "But he was a very striving young man. He was very focused on his studies, focused on music."

Knowles was studying management information systems. He played bass drum in the university's Marching Marauders band and was a member of the UNU chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

His bandmates have paid tribute to him, including with a video featuring the bass drum he played and a Bahamian flag.

Central State University said it was "deeply saddened" by his death. It extended condolences to his family, friends, fellow students, band members and fraternity brothers, and made counselling and support services available to students, faculty and staff.

Eric Walker, a consultant with the Invincible Marching Marauders, described Knowles as a "valued member" of the band family.

"Our band is a family," Mr Walker said, "and we will lean on one another and honour his memory as we navigate this loss together."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Science and Technology Chester Cooper said he had spoken with the family. He extended heartfelt condolences on behalf of the ministry and himself to Knowles's family, friends, former classmates, teachers and all who knew and loved him.

Mr Cooper said Knowles was a graduate of Government High School and a student of the Public School Scholars Programme (PSSP). He received the Public School Scholars award in fall 2022 and was expected to graduate in spring 2027.