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But even those who did not know Grosser personally could identify him by the feather-adorned hat, a graduation gift, he wore daily. Grosser died May 27 when another vehicle struck his motorcycle at a Colorado Springs, Colo., intersection.
Even on his motorcycle, Grosser was still "Feather Phill." When he drove friends to church on his motorcycle, or just drove around campus, he retained his mark of distinction by attaching a feather to his helmet.
"He was just himself always - to the extreme," said Laura Hostetler, a recent graduate. "Everyone knew who he was because he was such a character."
A New Hampshire native, Grosser was in Colorado interning for a nonprofit Christian development organization, Engineering Ministries International. Grosser planned to return to GW for a fifth year in the fall to complete the requirements for his degree in civil engineering.
In June, Grosser planned to visit Liberia for EMI to do development work and preach the Gospel. His mother, Elizabeth, said Grosser wanted to pursue a profession that combined civil engineering with spreading Christianity.
"He loved Jesus … he had an infectious smile," Elizabeth Grosser said of her son.
A member of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a campus ministry group, Grosser mentored younger students in Intervarsity, and helped organize social events. Many of his closest friends were also Intervarsity members, a group they considered synonymous with family.
"Everybody knew who he was and loved spending time with him," said Will Clark, a staff member at Intervarsity. "He was a really big part of the community."
Clark called him a "wonderful free spirit," and added, "He was just his own man … and that was just great."
Walt Quick, another staff member at Intervarsity, remembered Grosser's love of "really lame puns" and his loud, distinctive laugh.
"He had a really magnetic personality … he had a great love for people," Quick said.
