Oklahoma tornadoes: Woman killed in Chickasha lived a vibrant life

Short, 24, never got the chance.

She died Tuesday when a tornado destroyed her mother's mobile home.

Her death has been “shattering” to the small close-knit college in Chickasha where Short graduated in December, said J.C. Casey, a communications professor at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

“I loved her very much,” said Casey, who was Short's professor, adviser and friend. “Laron was not like anybody I had ever met before. She knew she wanted to be a journalist and she thought she could change the world.”

The tragedy, Casey said, is that Short was one of the few students she has ever had who might have actually changed the world.

With a burnt-orange Marxist symbol tattooed across her chest and her hair colored pink, she had a fervor for politics and a wit and intellect beyond her 24 years. She forced the world to re-examine its stereotypes, friends said.

“She was so selfless and nurturing, almost to a flaw, because sometimes she'd get kind of walked all over. A lot of people see that as a sign of naivete,” said Jared Minson, 23, who was co-editor of the college paper with Short. “That's what's so crazy. She was anything but naive. She was one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met.”

One of the highlights of Short's college career was a trip to Washington, D.C., that included sitting in on debates at the Capitol.

“Laron could hardly sit still,” Casey said. “She was like a little kid going to Disney World for the first time and a groupie going to a rock band, all rolled into one, at the thought that she was going to see Nancy Pelosi.”