At the age of 23, most people are still trying to find their footing in life. Yet here was Deah Shaddy Barakat, a 23-year-old Syrian American studying dentistry at the University of North Carolina, who was not only excelling at school, but was a positive force outside of it as well.

In his spare time, Deah volunteered for the homeless. His Facebook pagereveals images of events in Raleigh, North Carolina, which provided relief to those facing economic challenges with items such as food and dental supplies.

What’s more, alongside his friend Ali Heydary, Deah started a charity fund called Syrian Dental Relief that to date has raised nearly $300,000 for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

See: "Anti-theist" kills three Muslim students in US shooting

The budding dentist’s caring nature also extended to his friends. CNN reports that while reminiscing about celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, his friend Omar Abdel Baky jokingly mentioned how the two, unlike others, never received toy helicopters as gifts. Weeks later Omar was surprised to have a helicopter delivered to his home, courtesy of Deah.

This loving nature of Deah was evident in his body language. Every other picture of him online features a toothy grin, and in an interview with CNN, an emotional friend notes that the young man was a fierce hugger.

Evidently a fan of basketball, Deah was not only a fine young American, but a bright example of the majority of peaceful Muslims in the world. His posts on social media display his distaste for not only extremists groups — whom he felt were sullying the name of his faith — but for those preach violence in general as a solution.

I can only speculate, but perhaps Deah’s charitable behaviour where he was helping those in need was an extension of this zeal shown on social media. He was doing the honorable thing by showing action for his words.

Similarly, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, Deah’s 21-year-old wife was also passionate about helping. A graduate of NC State University, Yusor too was planning to study dentistry. Her 19-year-old sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, was a student of architecture and environmental design, and supported many charities as well.

By all accounts, Yusor and Deah were a perfectly matched and loving couple. When the three were horrifically shot in what was an execution style murder, Yusor and Deah had been married for barely two months.