Arielle Anderson, killed at MSU, loved photography wanted to be a doctor

• Arielle Anderson was a bright student eager to graduate 
• Anderson was a sophomore, but a junior by credit
• A GoFundMe has been started to support the family of the Harper Woods native.

Arielle Anderson excelled in the classroom and she also was passionate about helping others.

“She was super smart, at the top of her class,” her aunt Kim Spivey said. “She was going to be a doctor.”

Still just 19, Anderson was supposed to be a sophomore at Michigan State, but she earned enough credits in high school to technically be considered a junior credit wise in college.

Related:

• MSU victim Alexandria Verner was a star athlete, ‘most caring’ person
• Brian Fraser, killed at MSU, was a fraternity leader, 'strong friend'

A statement issued by a spokesperson for Comerica Bank, where Anderson’s mother Dawana Davis has worked for years, said that Arielle Anderson was passionate about serving people and helping others and she was trying to graduate early from MSU. 

Anderson died on Monday night after being shot, along with two other students, Brian Fraser  and Alexandria Verner. Five others, who were seriously injured in the shooting, remain hospitalized.

Anderson of Harper Woods was a 2021 graduate of Grosse Pointe North High School.

Her aunt Kim Spivey, said that Anderson was in an integrative Arts and Humanities course called Cuba: The Forging of a Unique Cultural Identity, when the shooting happened. 

Always MSU

Anderson fell in love with MSU even before attending.

“She loved it,” her aunt Spivey said of MSU. “Her mom wanted her to go to Wayne State, but she was like, ‘No I wanna go to Michigan State”

Last time

On Monday evening, another of Anderson’s aunts, Chandra Davis, a model and former reality show contestant known as Deelishis, posted on Instagram that Anderson was in a classroom in the same building as the shooter and had not heard from her.

Friends and family later posted social media tributes to Anderson. One relative identified on Instagram as ShayBaby called Anderson an “angel on earth.”

On Tuesday, family members recalled that they last saw Arielle last weekend. She had come home Thursday to visit her mother Dawana Davis in Harper Woods, just east of Detroit. They went to a Detroit Pistons game, and the teen spent time with her grandmother April Davis and an aunt who  is nonverbal. 

“She had a special needs auntie who she loved,” said April Davis, her grandmother. “That was her pride and joy.” 

On Sunday morning, Anderson's father took her back to school.

One of Anderson's favorite hobbies was photography and her aunt said her art was featured at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Anderson also liked creating content on her YouTube channel, going to concerts and spending time with her family. 

Donations have been pouring in since Timothy Davis, Arielle’s uncle, launched a GoFundMe fundraiser on behalf of the family.  Over $22,000 was raised in less than 24 hours. As of Friday, the tally climbed past $46,000.

First English Evangelical Lutheran Church will host a  vigil for Arielle Anderson at 5 p.m. on Feb. 18. 

“Everybody loved her,” added her aunt Kim Spivey. “Nobody’s perfect, but she’s close as they come.” 

A viewing for Anderson is 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at QA Cantrell Funeral Home, 22121 Kelly, Eastpointe. Her funeral is at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 21 at Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 4867 Van Dyke, Detroit.