“He always gave 110 percent,” friend Linda Venema said. “He was very passionate about what he did (in his life).”

Parks died Wednesday afternoon in a single-car accident on Bennett Road near the College Road intersection, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said. Parks was the only person in the vehicle when it veered off the road and collided with a tree.

Parks’ friend Adam Clements, an education junior, said Parks was the person others always wanted to be around.

“He was this smart, funny, athletic guy,” Clements said. “He was a good kid.”

Clements was among the group of friends who joined Parks in painting their chests for the game last fall. He said the experience was one of his favorite college memories.

“It’s just like all the other ones, but it’s still the best one,” he said. “It just summarizes who he was like nothing else.”

Venema, a social work sophomore, met Parks when the pair began working together at the East Complex cafeterias. She said he was the type of person who wasn’t afraid to take risks.

“This past summer, a group of us went skydiving and Josh and I jumped out together,” Venema said.

“He was more eccentric. He had no limits. If it could be done, he was the one to do it.”

Venema said when the weather was right, Parks could nearly always be found in an open field playing his beloved game of Ultimate Frisbee.

“He played Ultimate a lot,” Venema said. “That was actually what our last conversation was about.”

Clements said Parks didn’t just play Ultimate Frisbee often — he played it better than most, and was a coveted asset when the time came to choose teams.

“You’d always win with him on your team,” he said.

Parks also played soccer and was a member of the MSU club bowling team.

Venema said Parks was the type of person who had a constant smile on his face. He was the person she sought to brighten her day if she wasn’t feeling well.

McGlothian-Taylor said police were still investigating the accident Thursday afternoon, and the final police report would not be available for some time. She said she could not comment on what had caused the accident.

Phone calls made by The State News to Parks’ parents’ home in Marshall were not answered Thursday afternoon.