GWU alumna injured in Las Vegas shooting

Photo courtesy of Gardner-Webb University

By Sthefany Flores

A Gardner-Webb alumna was injured in the Las Vegas shooting that occurred Oct. 1.

 

Tina Frost (’12), was shot in her right eye as she attended the country music festival at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. According to Rich Frost, her father, “She has sight in her left eye but will never see from the right again. They took out a bone from her forehead to allow the brain room to swell, that will stay out for a few months.”

 

Since the shooting, Frost has undergone surgery and has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It is undetermined if she will have any lasting brain damage as a result of the shooting. Her father said that she is currently on a ventilator and is making, “small but critical steps, in her marathon.”

 

A friend of the Frost family created a GoFundMe campaign for Frost’s medical bills. So far, it has been shared over 40,000 times on Facebook. The original goal of $50,000 has been exceeded. The current amount raised is $445,360 donated by over 7,000 people.

 

In her time at GWU, Frost played for the women’s soccer team. Former Coach Kevin Mounce said that Frost was a very sincere person. “Tina always put her teammates and team first and cared about everyone.”

 

“[The Frosts] are very close family and care deeply for each other and when they get to know anyone as a person they care for them as well…  I hope they know everyone is praying for Tina and for them,” Mounce continued.

 

Sarah Currie, Dean of Students, was an assistant women’s soccer coach when Frost attended GWU.

 

“For three years I was her coach,” said Currie. “[The news] was very personal to me because I still have a relationship with the Frosts to this day.”

 

Currie said that the day she found out what had happened to Frost was a very emotional one for her. “It was hard to absorb that she was someone that was there. I was hoping and praying for her.”

 

“Tina is the type of person that has a quiet strength about her.” Currie said. “As long as you were at any level someone that she knew you were always considered as part of her flock and she cared for you. It is a tragedy what happened to her.”

 

When Currie found out what had happened to Frost she was about to go to a faculty meeting. She informed the attending faculty what had happened and many asked for updates about her condition.

 

Photo by Jenna Wachsmuth

Christian Life and Service hosted a Candlelight Prayer Time for the Frost family Oct. 3.

 

In an email to students, Dr. Tracy Jessup, senior minister to the university, reminded students that “While there are may needs for which we can pray, we especially remember the Frost family in prayer.”

 

Frost’s sister, Meg, also a former GWU soccer player, graduated in 2013.