On her MySpace account, Erin Peterson has her arms wide open, and she's wearing a 1,000-watt smile.

Natalie McLarty of the University of Mary Washington posted a long remembrance of Peterson on Facebook.com: "You were so inspirational to me. ... You were the thing that made hard soccer practices and horrible French classes enjoyable. I always said if I ever wanted to run away from home, I'd live with you."

Peterson was a freshman at Virginia Tech studying international relations when she died Monday. In high school, she was a star basketball player.

William Lloyd, Peterson's godfather, told the Washington City Paper, "She was a super child. Her and her dad, man, you couldn't separate them."

Lloyd said Erin and her father, Grafton Peterson, did part ways on their pro football allegiances. She was a Redskin," he said. "He was a Cowboy."

-- Staff and wire