HE HAD JUST MOVED TO FLORIDA FOR HIS DREAM DISNEY PROGRAM — THEN A LIGHTNING STRIKE CHANGED EVERYTHING

Matthew Jenkins was only 20 and had arrived in Florida just days earlier to begin a new chapter. His family and friends are now remembering the young man whose life ended unexpectedly.

Matthew Jenkins was just 20 years old.

He had recently left his home in Michigan and moved to Florida to begin what was supposed to be an exciting new chapter through the Disney College Program.

Instead, only days after arriving, his family was left mourning an unimaginable loss.

Jenkins died after a lightning strike near Celebration, Florida, on September 8, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and local reports.

HE HAD ONLY JUST ARRIVED

Jenkins, from Shelby Township, Michigan, had recently moved to Central Florida for the Disney College Program.

The program gives college students and recent graduates an opportunity to work and gain experience at Walt Disney World Resort.

For Jenkins, it represented the beginning of a dream.

But on Tuesday evening, while people nearby were taking shelter from a storm, lightning struck in the area.

Witnesses soon noticed Jenkins had collapsed along a walking path near a hotel in Celebration.

A bystander, Felipe Costa, immediately ran to help.

He and another person began performing CPR while waiting for emergency responders to arrive.

Jenkins was rushed to Celebration Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The exact medical cause was still awaiting the medical examiner’s determination in the initial reports.

‘THE BEST BEST FRIEND’

For those who knew Jenkins, the tragedy has been almost impossible to comprehend.

His best friend of seven years, Blake Jahn, remembered him as someone who genuinely cared about the people around him.

Jahn described Jenkins as “the best best friend” he could have asked for.

Friends and family have also remembered him as energetic, kind and deeply loved — a young man who had barely begun the life he was excited to build.

A DREAM THAT ENDED TOO SOON

Jenkins had moved away from home only days before his death.

His family had watched him take that major step into adulthood, beginning an opportunity he had been looking forward to.

Instead of coming home with stories from his new job and life in Florida, his loved ones were forced to say goodbye.

A Disney spokesperson also expressed sadness over Jenkins’ death and offered condolences to his family and loved ones.

A STRANGER RAN TO HELP

One of the most emotional details to emerge from the tragedy was the response from people who did not even know Jenkins.

When Costa realized someone had collapsed after the lightning strike, he immediately ran toward him.

He and another bystander attempted CPR until first responders arrived.

After learning Jenkins had died, Costa reportedly returned to the area and left a flower near the location.

For a family thousands of miles from home, those strangers’ efforts became one small source of comfort in an otherwise devastating moment.

HE WAS ONLY 20

Matthew Jenkins had his whole life ahead of him.

He had just moved away from home.

He had just begun a new opportunity.

And he had just started writing what should have been an entirely new chapter of his life.

Instead, his family, girlfriend and friends are now left remembering a 20-year-old whose future disappeared in a matter of moments.

He went to Florida to begin a dream. His loved ones are now left holding onto the memories he gave them.