I woke up on Monday, April 16th, 2007, preparing to go to school for my third to last week before graduation. I didn’t know that twenty minutes later I would be hearing gunshots, experiencing mass pandemonium, and feverishly praying for the safety of my near and dear ones.
What happened at my darling school happened; it was wrong, it was unfair, and we didn’t deserve it—but it happened. I can’t do anything to go back in time and change it, but I hope I can learn and help prevent something like this in the future.
All of us here at Virginia Tech are on the long road to recovery. We will never forget what happened; but today we are all stronger, closer, and more united than we have ever been. We will re-build, we will return the former glory that took Virginia Tech years to earn and in the words of one student, “We are the Hokies. We will prevail, we will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.”
My wish is that among the darkness, tears, and tragedy, some good may come. Here’s my promise: To all that read this, let’s make a deal I won’t buy a gun if you don’t. If we get enough people to agree, who cares about lobbyists and gun control?
One year later …
Virginia Tech had a record year in 2007. We received expressions of grief and support coming in over 87,000 different forms. We are so grateful for all of the love and recognition the world has shown our school community. The world showed their support with over $9.5 million in memorial gifts as well as visits from major celebrities including The President, Dave Matthews, and the New York Yankees.
The Hokie spirit emerged from tragedy and impressed the world with a host of Achievements. A 2007 ACC Championship Title, a good fight in the 2008 Orange Bowl, and climbed into the US News & World Report ranking of top fifteen undergraduate engineering programs nationwide. Hokies have proved that, “we will prevail, we are Virginia Tech.”
