Students and staff at Dalhousie's agricultural campus in Truro gathered Monday to remember a Chinese student who drowned earlier this month.

Zhuhui 'Kevin' Ye, 23, was a student from China. Police said he was spending an afternoon at Dollar Lake Provincial Park with friends on Sept. 8 when he tried to swim from one end of the lake to the other.

Ye had difficulty and went under. Divers found his body the next day.

As a graduate student in aquaculture he spent much of last summer working in the field, with fellow students Sarah Harding and Gina MacInnis.

"He was a great guy, super intelligent, very helpful. This summer it was the three of us so he would always do the heavy lifting. Sarah and I would try to grab the motor and he would always get the motor for us, said MacInnis.

"Definitely a gentleman."

In the program for Monday's service, Ye is described as "a popular and outgoing student whose generosity and kindness touched the many friends lucky enough to know him."

It said Ye arranged basketball games and taught his friends how to drive.

There is a collection under way for a memorial fund to help his family.