Two teenage girls in Queen's College's green and white pinstripe uniforms held each other as they wept.

Their pain was shared by hundreds of other high school students sitting in Queen's College's auditorium on Monday morning.

They were mourning the death of their head boy, Dario Rahming Jr., described as a "gentle giant" who "never shunned anybody".

Rahming passed out on Saturday during basketball practice and was later pronounced dead.

His death has sent a surreal shockwave through the Queen's College community.

During the special assembly held in his honor yesterday, counselors from other private schools and the Ministry of Education consoled grieving students.

Many students grieved in groups and had to be taken out of assembly when they became too overwhelmed.

While many senior students, including some prefects, were overcome with emotion throughout the morning, there were those students who stood strong for their classmates. Those students offered a shoulder to cry on to their bereaved friends, and wiped tears from their eyes.

While some younger high school students were also visibly upset, others looked on curiously and with apparent concern as the senior students, some of whom they no doubt look up to, struggled to come to terms with the difficult reality.

One of Dario's homeroom teachers, Michelle Peters, said she met him when he entered Queen's College for grade seven, and she embarked on her teaching career at the school.

"From the moment I have met Dario, there was just a light around this little boy," Peters, a mathematics teacher, recalled with tears in her eyes.

"In our homeroom, we have [a student who walks with a walker]. And since grade seven, Dario took it upon himself to assist her without even being asked.

"Dario would come to school in the morning; I was his confidant. I was a second mother to him. He was an avid Lakers fan. He and the other boys in the homeroom would have spirited debates every morning. You could be coming from around by the cafeteria area and hear them.

"As recently as Wednesday, and Thursday of last week, they had a spirited debate in my homeroom during lunchtime. I literally had to run them out of the homeroom when the bell went.

"He was a prayer warrior for our class. He would have these long, lengthy prayers and the kids would be like 'Dario, not too long today. I have some place to go to'.

"When he prayed, he stressed a lot on mental health, asking God to give us the fortitude and to give us strength so that we can go on and accept things that we do not know."

Another one of Dario's homeroom teachers, Carlene Hanna, said she was bursting with pride when the 17-year-old was chosen to be heady boy.

"He's matured so much and became so advanced," the computer science teacher said.

"He was also always an intelligent young man, always did well academically. But in terms of maturity, you saw him just grow, grow and grow.

"Even physically, Dario was towering over us, but he was always just kind hearted. He always was the person to bring the devotion in class; he's always the person to want to pray. I would always call him Pastor Dario affectionately."

Members of the girls and boys basketball teams wore their jerseys in Rahming's memory. Assistant coach of the senior boys basketball team Jerome Lucas said Dario was the "heart and soul of the team."

"[Dario was] the first one to be the motivator, the guy who normally stands up quickly to pray for the team, whether we are down in the game, or whether we are actually just going to start the game, always praying for the healing, to protect us throughout the game," Lucas said.

"He's really, really important to us."

Dario's teammate, Daniel Rolle, said he had the sort of personality that you couldn't miss, but also one that wasn't overbearing.

"The thing about Dario, when I think of him, I kind of used that analogy in terms of fragrance," he said.

"Whereas some people are just used to a strong scent and it hits them. However, when it comes to him, he is like that one person who walks by [and] the scent is flowery [and] nice. It isn't too strong; it doesn't knock you over.

"However, when it's not there, you can feel the absence of the presence. He was never really the [person to outshine] in any group.

"However, he would walk by, like how we're gathered here, make one or two remarks, make us smile, make us laugh, and off he goes to make someone's day. So just that feeling of that sweet, flowery fragrance that will now be missed."

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