"He was compassionate, witty, extremely intelligent, spontaneous, a tad snarky, and, always, a great friend."
"He told me that his philosophy was that now, we have the time but not the money to do the things we want, but later we will have the money but none of the time, so we must not wait to explore and get the most out of every moment. This urgency to seize the good in life permeated everything Mischa did. He didn’t wait to do what he knew he could achieve, see, or explore."
"I had the opportunity to spend last summer working at Infosys in India with Mischa as fellow interns. Mischa was somebody that stood out right away - he had a larger than life personality and an energy about him that made you want to get to know him and spend time with him. He constantly had fun ideas of things to do and was always up for adventure. Not to mention he was incredibly smart."
"We convinced him to shave his beard into an impressive horseshoe mustache...He was not especially pleased with the result, but he wore it well (for at least a day!) and he rocked the look (everybody agreed)...It was not difficult to convince him; I believe it was his idea to begin with, announcing out of nowhere "Should I shave my beard?!" That energy was one of the things I loved about Mischa - his willingness to live his life boldly and with gusto (and quite a lot of jokes). Mischa was always someone whose presence I sincerely appreciated; when he was around, we were guaranteed to have an amazing time"
"One particularly vivid memory I have of him was one evening "I was walking through the Larkin courtyard and I saw him fire juggling near the picnic table. I remember my first thought was "Hm they didn't really cover this scenario in RA training" and right after that thought, I remember thinking "Well, I trust Mischa and he's bringing the other residents so much joy right now so I think it's great!" I remember feeling so grateful as I left the courtyard that Mischa was a part of Larkin – who else would have thought to draw people out of studying for winter quarter finals in their the dorm rooms by juggling fire? He had a real talent for bringing people together and creating enjoyable moments by saying or doing unexpected things"
"Mischa loved this little baby pig that we met on our tour of a finca (farm) in Extremadura, Spain so much that there are probably 15 people from our trip with this same picture on their phones!! He would not put that pig down"
"You had an unmatched curiosity for the world and all its wonders. You were relentlessly ambitious, and you inspired everyone you met with your drive, curiosity, and passion. You were someone who was never afraid to be his true self. "You always pushed me to be a better version of myself; you saw the good in people that they couldn’t see in themselves. You were wise beyond your years, and I thank you for all the wisdom you’ve given me that will continue to guide me in life every day. You have touched every person you have met with your love, laughter, curiosity, intellect, passion and heart."
"I don’t remember the exact build up to this photo but I’m pretty sure someone captured it right as Cassidy, Melanie and I ran over to give Mischa some much deserved spontaneous love. Melanie posted the photo on Instagram that day, and her caption describes how we felt/feel about Mischa perfectly 'can’t tell where we’re going but you can tell we love Mischa'"
"This is my favorite picture of Mischa and I, this was 2013 at Camp Winnarainbow’s costume dance party. We became close friends in the early years of our camp lives and stayed friends through the years, I’m going to miss his uniquely beautiful presence in this world and every quirky memory that came along with it. His impact on this world is so widespread, so many individuals, including myself, have felt his love and friendship."
"On a few occasions, we just sat down and talked for hours, especially during times when I was struggling and he never missed a beat in being there for me."
"He was infectiously kind and funny."
"We hadn’t grown up together, we didn’t go to school together, nor were we even in each other’s lives on regular occasions but every moment I was with him felt like I’d known him my entire life. The aura of kindness and comfort he gave off was amazing."
"At this Spa in India, you put your feet in the water and the fish eat away at the dead skin. While we were only supposed to put our feet in, Mischa wondered what it would be like to put his hand in."
"After the dive we spent a few hours grabbing lunch and walking around Malta. I wish I had a better memory for conversations because I don’t remember it all...We talked about his experiences over his incredible travels. He spent a few minutes detailing his favorite dive in PhuKet. They saw a reef that stood out from the ground and he talked about how the fish swimming in and out of it looked like a waterfall of color. He said he was upset that he didn’t have a photo because he never wanted the memory to fade. He talked about Spain and how he loved being able to speak in spanish. He talked about the art in Florence and how much Professor Verdon changed his perspective on art history. I wish I remembered the details of this conversation more fully but it was immediately clear to me how much he valued those experiences and how fully he committed himself to growing through travel."
"Watching Mischa’s love for life was truly beautiful. Mischa was always captivated by every nuance life has to offer. There was never a cave that he did not explore, or a rock that he did not lift up. His love for exploring and desire to understand was contagious, and his sense of curiosity has taught me to truly cherish life to the fullest. Mischa truly lived a fulfilling life."