For nearly four years, senior Ivey Mustaki shined her bright, big smile to the school community, leading a life of positivity, love and fun.

Mustaki died unexpectedly on March 16. Her devotion to caring for others forever inspired those who knew her to “love like Ivey loved,” a hashtag created in her honor.

“I first met her at a concert: Train, her favorite band. She came up to me and started screaming ‘Drops of Jupiter,’ her favorite song,” said Mustaki’s friend, senior Alex Jaeger. “She’s just so goofy,” said Jaeger as he continued. “We were on the lawn and were dancing the entire time. We became friends immediately.”

Mustaki’s friends said that she didn’t care what others thought of her and that she lived as passionately and as genuinely as she could.

Her spunky, vibrant personality was displayed through her love of funky socks and the colors yellow and light blue ― the colors her friends wore to her funeral service last week.

Jaeger said she recalled a time when she and Mustaki were at ACT tutoring, and the teacher used Mustaki to break the ice with the new kids.

“He said ‘Let’s go see Ivey’s new trick,’” said Jaeger. “We all gathered around Ivey, and she started to eat a whole apple all the way to the core, telling us how this was her favorite kind of apple. The new kids totally forgot they were new. We were just laughing and entertained by Ivey.”

Mustaki had a knack for befriending people who felt out of place.

Another friend of Mustaki’s, senior Kendall Long, first came to the school her junior year and said one of her most vivid memories with Mustaki was at one of the first football tailgates of the year; Long didn’t really know anyone at the time.

“Ivey was cheering and came to the tailgate,” said Long. “I was chilling by myself, and she came up to me and was like ‘Hey, Kendall!,” and I didn’t even know she remembered my name. She’s so welcoming. Even if I was a bad person, she’d still come up to me. That was the first time I was like ‘Wow, she’s genuinely an amazing person.’”

Health teacher and Head Cheer Coach Allison Chambless was Mustaki’s coach.

Mustaki was a student mentor for one of Chambless’s classes this semester, and Chambless said once a new student was to join the class, Mustaki took it upon herself to walk the student to the cafeteria after class to find people to sit with during lunch.

“A lot of people, if they don’t know you really well, won’t say hi when they see you,” said friend Lily Newall, a senior. “Ivey always picked up where you left off and would say hi. It might’ve been uncomfortable to some people how much she cared. Like, I just met you and you’re asking me how I am.”

Students who knew her said that she would stick up for her friends if she heard someone gossiping about them and that she was always there to cheer people up, even if she herself was having a bad day. They said she never judged people before she got to know them.

“I’ll miss how she constantly reached out to people. She never put herself first,” said Jaeger. “I loved how she didn’t put a label on anyone. She was never quiet, never a bystander, always making sure everyone’s happy.”

Mustaki was also known for her positivity, kindness and resilience.

“I refer to her as the light in the room. That light never went out, no matter what the situation was,” said Chambless. “She was the girl on the cheer team if you needed a shoulder to cry on and would always lend a helping hand.”

One day, Chambless said, Mustaki got poked in the eye while performing a stunt at practice. “When I asked her if she was okay, she ran to the bathroom, came back with a big smile, said she was good and got right back to work,” said Chambless. “She was always ready.”

Some of Mustaki’s friends said she made the best of every situation.

“I will miss how she lit up every room that she walked into and didn’t make any situation lonely,” said senior Delanee Wilson. “If Ivey was there, it was gonna be a good time.”

Mustaki’s love for others has inspired those who knew her very deeply. 

“I feel like in our society it’s not cool to always do the right thing,” said Long. “Ivey went past that. She showed everyone it’s fun to be nice. After being friends with Ivey, I was like ‘why not be this nice to everyone?’ Even when she didn’t really know you, she cared about you.”