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Joshua Goodart, a cybersecurity and networks major in the University of New Haven’s Class of 2021, died over the weekend from COVID complications, the school announced this week.
Goodart, who was a resident of Oxford, Connecticut in western New Haven County, became ill during the university’s Winter Break and was hospitalized last month, never returning to campus for the spring semester.
Friends and family said that Goodart was diagnosed with COVID-19 in the beginning of January, and when his symptoms became worse, he was admitted into Bridgeport Hospital, where he was eventually transferred to the ICU when those symptoms worsened.
Goodart was placed on a ventilator in the ICU and continued to fight the virus "with the only means of his iPhone to provide familial support.
"His family then received a call in the middle of the night that his symptoms worsened and he was going to be transferred to Yale New Haven Hospital to be placed on an ECMO machine and other adjunct therapies.”
Liberty Page, Goodart’s adviser, said he was “passionate about his major, describing him as a ‘hardworking, sincerely nice, and happy person. He never had a complaint and was nothing but positive. I am thinking of his smile, how cheerful he was, and how excited he was about his future.’
According to the University of New Haven, Goodart “was looking forward to completing his senior Capstone Network Project this spring, and he was excited to take the University's ‘Ethical Hacking’ course.
“He was working remotely on his internship course over Winter Break when he took ill,” officials said. “Joshua indicated to Professor Page that he wanted to remain in his home state of Connecticut after Commencement, with the goal of working in network administration.”
Page said that Goodart “was getting ready to go into his career and to do a great job helping to protect the network of a company in our state.”
Goodart will be awarded his degree posthumously during Commencement and his parents will be invited to be special guests if the pandemic permits an in-person celebration.
A candlelight vigil has been scheduled by the Undergraduate Student Government Association has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12 near the Charger Statue next to the Beckerman Recreation Center.
Facial coverings will be required, and social distancing will be enforced.
Grief counseling will be available through the University’s Counseling and Psychological Service Office at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and 4:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Bartels Student Activity Center.
A GoFundMe fundraising campaign for the Goodart family has been started and can be found here.
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