Frankl grew-up in Wilmette and was in her junior year at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland when a hit-and-run driver stole her life.
She was 750 miles from home but happy to be pursuing her passion.
"She was always smiling. She was funny. She had this great wit, and the amount of people that came out to support her and her friends and her family is just astounding to me," said friend Jack Berger.
The 20-year-old was crossing the street Friday afternoon in front of her campus apartment building in Baltimore. The driver of a pick-up truck hit her, and then sped off.
Frankl's parents were able to fly in from Chicago and they were with her in the hospital when she died.
Police found the damaged pick-up truck in northwest Baltimore but not the driver.
"If she would have gotten help faster, if he had stopped, it really could have changed the outcome of things," said friend Chris Capuano.
Miriam graduated from New Trier in 2007. She had a close group of friends at the school, was a peer mentor and cross country runner.
New Trier Principal Tim Dohrer says simply, Miriam was an "all around great kid."
"This was a young mind who was not only involved in her life and other people but was just as passionate about her studies and moving in the direction of possibly doing work in medical and medical research," Dohrer said.
