In memoriam: engaged Cleveland State students Samira Xhaferi and Albi Çela killed in car accident – The Cauldron
Two Cleveland State University (CSU) students were killed in a car accident in Cleveland on Tuesday, Nov. 11, according to an email sent by CSU President Laura Bloomberg to the campus community on Friday, Nov. 14.
Xhaferi, 28, and Çela, 30, were headed north on Martin Luther King Drive from E. 105th St. when their vehicle “lost control on a curve, crossed into southbound lanes and collided with another vehicle,” according to Cleveland police.
“We send our deepest sympathies to their families for the profound loss of their children at too young an age,” wrote Bloomberg in the email.
Both Xhaferi and Çela were originally from Albania and had come to the United States to pursue their education abroad. Xhaferi was a Ph.D. student in regulatory biology, conducting research in CSU’s Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease. She earned a bachelor’s in biology from CSU in 2022 and served as vice president of the Student Government Association in 2021.
Bloomberg shared that Xhaferi was a tireless and award-winning researcher who had just passed her qualifying exams, making her a Ph.D. candidate.
“She worked tirelessly to identify new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease while also sharing her sense of humor and genuine kindness with her lab mates,” said Bloomberg. “During her time in the lab, Samira made several research breakthroughs, which are currently being prepared for publication.”
Çela was enrolled in the CSU College of Law, where he was pursuing a master’s degree in legal studies after completing the LL.M. post-JD program. He also earned a degree from Arizona State University’s International Rule of Law and Security program, and a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in international law from University College Beder in Tirana.
In her email, Bloomberg added that Çela had hosted and produced a podcast called “Rule of Law Albania,” with focuses on “human rights, democracy and other matters of law in his home country.”
“To those who knew him, Albi was gifted, dedicated, brotherly and curious,” said Bloomberg.
A GoFundMe has been launched to help their families bring them home to Albania for their memorial services. As of Sunday, Nov. 16, over $110,000 has been raised for a $30,000 goal.