It was a somber day in New Hartford as the community came together to remember a young woman who was killed while away at college. Funeral services were held Thursday for 18-year-old Alexandra Kogut. But rather than dwelling on the circumstances surrounding her death, the mass was about celebrating her life.

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NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. -- Friends and family said their final goodbyes to a New Hartford girl killed while away at college. A funeral service was held at St. John the Evangelist Church Thursday for 18-year-old Alexandra Kogut.

Kogut, a freshman at the College at Brockport, was found dead in her dorm room last weekend. Her boyfriend, Clayton Whittemore, 21, has been charged with second degree murder for her death.

But for those in attendance, the funeral was a chance to reflect on Kogut's life rather than the circumstances of her death.

"She looked on life as a blessing to be lived, to be lived to the full. But not lived for herself, lived for others, for family, for friends. She was a giver, not a taker. She made friends with everybody and welcomed the strangers and the passersby into the joy of that beautiful countenance and that engaging smile," Father Paul Drobin said.

Kogut was laid to rest in a private ceremony at Calvary Cemetery following the mass.