BOONE, N.C.,None — A local college student died while studying abroad in Spain.
Doctors think Landon Hill, 21, died from bacterial meningitis. The Weddington High School graduate was a senior at Appalachian State University.
He died the day before Thanksgiving at his apartment in Seville, Spain, a day after complaining of having a stiff neck. He had been studying abroad there since August and was set to return in January.
"He had always wanted to travel the world and he wanted to experience other cultures," his father, Jerry Hill, said.
Landon was a star student at Appalachian State, he made friends easily and was chasing a career in politics, his family said.
"He would have done it. Anything he set his mind to, he would have done it," Jerry Hill said.
His parents got the call from Spain on the night before the first Thanksgiving they've spent apart from their son.
"He apparently got up Wednesday morning with neck pain and posted it on his Facebook wall, and no one was able to get in touch with him after that," Jerry Hill said.
In the midst of their pain, Landon's parents have a message for other parents: To make sure their children get a meningitis vaccination and booster shots.
They are comforted by the outpouring of support from hundreds of Landon's friends on Facebook.
The Hills hope all those Landon touched will be inspired by his desire to make the world a better place.
"Now others are going to have to do that for him," his mother, Ginger Hill, said. "And they will. They will. They said that he will not be forgotten, and that's what we believe."
Landon's family is helping to sponsor a scholarship at Appalachian State for students who want to travel abroad. For more information, click here.