Miles remembered by family and friends as an inspiration

By Amanda Koehler
Collegian Editor
March 21, 2007

La Salle student Joseph Miles III, 21, passed away around midnight Saturday, March 17, after complications from cancer that affected his lungs.

The communication major was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March 2006, but remained positive about his prognosis.

“Joe’s whole outlook on the cancer was just that it picked the wrong body to mess with,” said Drew Carballo, senior business management major and Miles’ roommate last fall.

“Even when he was very sick, most people didn’t realize how very sick he was because of his positive attitude,” said Dr. Marianne Dainton, who taught Miles in her Communication Theory class. “He did what he had to do, no complaints, no feeling sorry for himself.”

Miles worked with his professors after his diagnosis so that he could still graduate early in December 2006, something he had been planning on doing since freshman year. He still wanted to walk with the rest of the Class of 2007 at graduation in May.

He was involved in campus life, working as a Resident Assistant (RA) his sophomore year in St. Edward and Francis Halls and as a Students’ Government Association (SGA) officer.

Dean of Students Dr. Joseph Cicala got to know Miles through his involvement with Community Development and SGA. He said that Miles was his technology expert when Cicala was considering upgrading his cell phone to something more advanced.

“What I remember clearly about him is that he seemed to be liked and respected by a very large number of people,” Cicala said. “Based on my interactions with him, it was very well earned because he, in turn, liked and respected a great number of people.”

Miles had always been interested in the music industry. He had an internship with Jim Jones, rapper and co-CEO of Diplomat Records, in the summer of 2005. The internship led to Miles becoming Jones’ executive assistant, a job he kept up until his death.

Miles also helped co-found and manage Dipskate, an extreme sports team consisting of freestyle rollers, which is a type of aggressive in-line skating.

La Salle student Joseph Miles III, 21, passed away around midnight Saturday, March 17, after complications from cancer that affected his lungs.

The communication major was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March 2006, but remained positive about his prognosis.

“Joe’s whole outlook on the cancer was just that it picked the wrong body to mess with,” said Drew Carballo, senior business management major and Miles’ roommate last fall.

“Even when he was very sick, most people didn’t realize how very sick he was because of his positive attitude,” said Dr. Marianne Dainton, who taught Miles in her Communication Theory class. “He did what he had to do, no complaints, no feeling sorry for himself.”

Miles worked with his professors after his diagnosis so that he could still graduate early in December 2006, something he had been planning on doing since freshman year. He still wanted to walk with the rest of the Class of 2007 at graduation in May.

He was involved in campus life, working as a Resident Assistant (RA) his sophomore year in St. Edward and Francis Halls and as a Students’ Government Association (SGA) officer.

Dean of Students Dr. Joseph Cicala got to know Miles through his involvement with Community Development and SGA. He said that Miles was his technology expert when Cicala was considering upgrading his cell phone to something more advanced.

“What I remember clearly about him is that he seemed to be liked and respected by a very large number of people,” Cicala said. “Based on my interactions with him, it was very well earned because he, in turn, liked and respected a great number of people.”

Miles had always been interested in the music industry. He had an internship with Jim Jones, rapper and co-CEO of Diplomat Records, in the summer of 2005. The internship led to Miles becoming Jones’ executive assistant, a job he kept up until his death.

Miles also helped co-found and manage Dipskate, an extreme sports team consisting of freestyle rollers, which is a type of aggressive in-line skating.

He told the Collegian in a recent article (“Miles pursues dreams despite battling cancer,” Feb. 14, 2007, p. 12) how much this experience meant to him:

“I’ve had the privilege to travel, working with everyone from Usher to Diddy. It’s been like a dream come true, but the beauty of it is that I don’t consider it to be work because it’s what I enjoy doing.”

His friends all mentioned his ambition and what he has achieved in such a short time span.

“He’s accomplished more in 21 years than most people do in their lifetime, and he has probably met more people than I will in my entire life,” senior communication major Alexis Keegan said.

“There was nothing that could stop him from being everything he wanted to be. When we would talk about graduating and the job market, he said he would tell potential employers, ‘I beat cancer, so what do you have for me?’” said Greg Allen, La Salle alum ’06 and Miles’ roommate freshman year.

Miles was more than just a career-oriented 21-year-old: he was a son, brother and friend to many La Salle students.

The son of Joseph and Nina Tribble, Miles grew up on Long Island with his twin brother, Kenny.

“He was my older brother by a minute, and he never let me forget it. He was always by my side,” Kenny said. “He was the best brother I could have asked for. Everywhere he was, I was, and everywhere I was, he was.”

Kenny, a student at Vassar College, said he’ll always remember his “twin connections” with his brother, and reflected on a time when Miles had to go to the hospital after an accident when the boys were young.

“I was in the waiting room in the hospital, and all of a sudden, I started screaming and holding my right hand,” Kenny said. “At the same time, Joe was getting stitches in his right hand.”

Both boys enjoyed playing lacrosse, soccer and baseball. Kenny acted in Malverne Senior High School’s musicals, while Miles worked on the crew. Miles also played baritone and tenor saxophones and was a drum major in high school.

Miles was also admired by many of his professors in the Communication Department, including journalism professor Huntly Collins.

“In the short time that he was with us, he gave us so much — a sharp intellect, a keen wit and a joyful and optimistic spirit,” said Collins, who taught Miles in her Fundamentals Journalism class last fall.

“When he began intensive chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Joe insisted on keeping up with class assignments even though he felt lousy and was required to stay in the hospital.”

Collins said that Miles wrote a story about a woman at Sloan-Kettering who quit her job on Wall Street to be a nurse after her sister found out she had cancer. Miles reported and wrote the story from the hospital.

Miles was well-liked by a lot of La Salle students, many of whom went to visit him in the hospital last week.

Senior communication major Jacki Allen said that Miles would often stop by at 8 a.m. to see what she was doing or just to give her a hug.

She also remembered one night when Miles asked if he could use her computer to write something “really quick.” Hours later, Miles was still there, typing a five-page paper in Jacki’s room.

“I was so annoyed, but he had that charm that even if you were mad at him or he was annoying you, you couldn’t stay mad,” she said. “He’d flash that goofy smile, and you’d just melt. He was truly one of a kind. There has never been and will never be another person like him.”

Keegan said that at one of her birthday parties, Miles tried to teach her mother how to dance the “A-town stomp” to Usher’s “Yeah.” She also remembered how caring Miles was.

“He always took the time out to give me a call and ask how my day was going,” Keegan said. “He would listen to me talk about any problem I had, even though his was worse than mine. He’d give me little motivational speeches, when I should have been giving them to him.”

Luke Bollerman, senior political science major and SGA president, admired how much Miles valued his friends.

“He always called his friends ‘fam.’ He looked at all of us as part of his family,” Bollerman said. “I really did feel like I was a family member to him.”

Miles had a special concern for other young people, many of them small children, who were also dealing with cancer.

“He would see kids half his age being treated for cancer, and he felt he had no right to complain about his situation,” Kenny said.

Miles told Myra McPhee, former Resident Coordinator (RC) for St. Basil Court, that he was interested in working with the Caps for Kids charity, which gives autographed baseball caps or scarves to children undergoing treatment for cancer.

“He told me, ‘I’ve really got to do something to help these kids that I’ve seen,’” McPhee said. “He was planning on having a cancer-free party and reaching out to everyone he knew to sign hats to give to the charity.”

He told the Collegian in February that he was currently undergoing his last round of chemotherapy, and that the next step was to discuss a stem cell transplant with his doctors.

Miles will always be remembered by his friends and family as one of a kind.

“He was someone who was full of energy and ambition, someone who could make an impact on you in less than a minute,” Greg Allen said.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a person say a bad thing about him. He was truly a blessing,” Keegan said. “You couldn’t have had asked for a better friend, and I feel lucky to have known him.”

His friends and family knew how much the La Salle community meant to him, especially during his battle with cancer.

“I know he loved La Salle, and there’s been so much support this past week, especially from the students at La Salle,” Kenny said. “It’s meant a lot to my parents and me. It’s a reaffirmation to my parents that they raised a great son and that he left a legacy.”

At press time, no funeral arrangements have been made.

Notes of condolence can be sent to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Tribble and Kenny Miles, 782 Janos Lane, West Hempstead, NY, 11552-4134.

koehlera1@lasalle.edu