Described as an avid indie rock lover, an active sorority member and an unfaltering friend, UC Berkeley junior Jenna Bockmiller died after a six-year battle with melanoma on Saturday. She was 20 years old.

Friends said Bockmiller, a sister of the Delta Delta Delta sorority and intended psychology major, pursued her interests, including her devotion to music, despite the significant burden of frequent doctors' appointments and treatments for her illness.

"She had the best taste in music," said Delta Delta Delta President Joyce Chang. "She was the one who introduced me to Coachella. That says a lot."

According to UCLA junior Piper Akol, Bockmiller taught herself to play guitar and piano and would spend time helping with her brother's band as well as attending and working at concerts. She said Bockmiller got to meet the Strokes – one of her favorite bands – through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Akol, one of Bockmiller's best friends since middle school, said Bockmiller did not allow her illness to control her life and was able to complete all requirements in time to graduate with her high school class despite the time restraints of being a melanoma patient.

"She was very resilient," Akol said. "She was not dealt a great hand in life. Most people don't have to deal with this … But she didn't complain. She was honest, enthusiastic, funny, everything a girl could want in a best friend."

Friends said Bockmiller demonstrated her dependability and enthusiasm through her participation in her sorority.

"Even if she was tired and wasn't feeling that well, if she had committed to helping out at an event or something, she was there and she helped," Chang said.

Bockmiller's battle with cancer began when she was diagnosed at age 14, toward the end of eighth grade. Radiation treatments damaged her spinal cord, making walking difficult and running impossible, impacting her love for athletics like track and field. She was in remission for about four years before relapsing her freshman year at UC Berkeley.

"I felt like she was wiser about everything, about life in general, because of her experiences," said UC Berkeley junior Eileen Libove. "Jenna never let petty things upset her."

In 2008, Bockmiller received a Courage Award from the Melanoma Research Foundation. Melanoma survivor Suzanne Lescure, who met Bockmiller through the foundation, said Bockmiller's mother was extremely involved with the foundation and dedicated to helping her daughter overcome the cancer.

On a personal online fundraising page that encourages donations for the Melanoma Research Foundation, Bockmiller wrote earlier this year about how her illness changed how she perceived her life.

"I have an appreciation for life that many other people my age don't," Bockmiller wrote. "I look at every day as a blessing and the things that I do, no matter if it's something I want to do or not, is something I get to do, and am therefore grateful."

Bockmiller's memorial service will be held on Nov. 13 at Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church at 11 a.m.

Tags: JENNA BOCKMILLER, DELTA DELTA DELTA