"We will prevail, we will prevail, we will prevail."
What makes April 16th significant is how we have prevailed in these thirteen years. Virginia Tech has a foundation of eight core values: Brotherhood, Honor, Leadership, Sacrifice, Service, Loyalty, Duty, and Ut Prosim. And for the last thirteen years, Hokie Nation has represented these core values in such wonderful ways. Our motto, "Ut Prosim," That I May Serve is embedded in each and every one of us. We come together to serve our communities by volunteering our time to help others. We perform random acts of kindness to complete strangers, knowing that a simple, unexpected gesture could brighten their day. Why? Because this is what being a Hokie is all about. This is how we prevail. And these core values represent the ways that we choose to Live for 32.
On this day, let us remember and honor what we lost; but let's also celebrate in how far we have come and what we have accomplished. Continue to create opportunities to show the world what it truly means to be a Hokie. Be there for others when they are in need - especially now - because so many were there for us when we needed them. Hug you loved ones a little longer, laugh a little louder; celebrate your successes, learn and move on from your defeats. Don't dwell on the past, but focus on how you can embrace change for the future.
Continue to find joy in the small things in life.
In honor of this day and every day, simply, continue being a Hokie. Continue living for 32 and neVer forgeTting. Continue saying "Go Hokies" to those you pass by that are wearing orange and maroon. Continue jumping to Enter Sandman as it randomly plays at a bar, restaurant, or the radio. Continue giving a 'thumbs up' or waving to the people in the car who are sporting the Virginia Tech decals or VT license plates. When someone asks you 'What is a Hokie?', continue to respond "I Am." Continue giving high fives after touchdowns to every single fan around you in Lane Stadium. And always continuing coming back Home after you leave.
This is Home, and We Are Virginia Tech.
Comments
Very well written. With all that's going on these days, it's easy to forget that we all have each other and that's what truly matters. I'm so thankful that out of the infinite scenarios the universe could have played out for me, I happened to become a part of the Hokie community.
Back in October of last year, I was returning from a two week visit in my native Blacksburg to my current home in Japan. While navigating the Tokyo airport, a stranger passed me and muttered something strange under his breath. I soon realized it was something along the lines of "don't shoot up the place". Momentarily confused, I looked down to notice I was wearing a maroon VT hoodie and connected the dots. It's so unfortunate that some (hopefully very few) outsiders still carry this sentiment. I felt many different emotions while I walked to my gate. Once I arrived there, low and behold the man was there waiting for the same flight I was booked on. I thought about confronting him, but decided against it. I would not let his negative thoughts and actions invoke any external reaction from me. I remained calm and thought about all of the blessings in my life. In other words, live for 32.
Go Hokies!!!! We are .....Virginia Tech
Can't believe that was 13 years ago. I remember that day like it was yesterday.
For those that typically do the 3.2 for 32, Virginia Tech organized a community run goal through the phone app Stridekick. The goal is for everyone that is signed up to run/walk/move a combined 32,000 miles from today April 16th through April 18th. The stridekick app can link to your phone or smart watch pedometer/exercise tracking app.
Official VT Release
Stridekick App Challenge Sign Up Link
Printable Bib to wear if you choose.
I was thinking last night what I wanted to post in this thread today and I still struggled to find the right words as I sat at my computer. I am sure that like vtandy, most of us remember that day like it was yesterday. We all have moments, both good and bad, that we remember vividly. April 16, 2007 is a day that is ingrained in all of us and we all remember very clearly where we were and how we felt when we heard the news. I remember the shock and devastation that I felt when my co-worker told me the news. I remember being worried about our friends who were still in Blacksburg and how relieved I was when I found out they were okay. But after the sadness, shock, and anger died down, I remember the feeling of hope and community and the support that everyone offered.
Today more than ever we are all Hokies. Wear your Orange and Maroon proudly. Be kind to others in whatever ways that you can during this crazy time--- call someone you haven't talked to in a while, if you are going to the store, ask a neighbor if they need anything, send a note to someone, do some yard work for someone, if you have to go out find some way to be kind to someone in the store. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.
To all TKPers and their families who are on the front lines of our current situation: THANK YOU.
We are Virginia Tech. We will prevail. We will neVer forgeT. Go Hokies!
Never forget the victims:
Jamie Bishop (35) Pine Mountain, Georgia
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak (49) Montreal, Quebec
Kevin P. Granata (45) Toledo, Ohio
Liviu Librescu (76) Ploiești, Romania
G. V. Loganathan (53) Gobichettipalayam, India
Ross A. Alameddine (20) Saugus, Massachusetts
Brian Roy Bluhm (25) Louisville, Kentucky
Ryan Clark (22) Martinez, Georgia
Austin Michelle Cloyd (18) Champaign, Illinois
Daniel Perez Cueva (21) Woodbridge, Virginia
Matthew Gregory Gwaltney (24) Chesterfield County, Virginia
Caitlin Hammaren (19) Westtown, New York
Jeremy Micaehl Herbstritt (27) Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Rachael Elizabeth Hill (18) Richmond, Virginia
Emily Jane Hilscher (19) Woodville, Virginia
Matthew Joseph La Porte (20) Dumont, New Jersey
Jarrett Lee Lane (22) Narrows, Virginia
Henry J. Lee (20) Roanoke, Virginia/Vietnam
Partahi Lumbantoruan (34) Medan, Indonesia
Lauren Ashley McCain (20) Hampton, Virginia
Daniel Patrick O'Neil (22) Lincoln, Rhode Island
Juan Ramon Ortiz (26) Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Minal Hiral Panchal (26) Mumbai, India
Erin Nicole Peterson (18) Centreville, Virginia
Michael Steven Pohle Jr. (23) Flemington, New Jersey
Julia Katherine Pryde (23) Middletown Township, New Jersey
Mary Karen Read (19) Annandale, Virginia
Reema Joseph Samaha (18) Centreville, Virginia
Waleed Mohammed Shaalan (32) Zagazig, Egypt
Leslie Geraldine Sherman (20) Springfield, Virginia
Maxine Shelley Turner (22) Vienna, Virginia
Nicole Regina White (20) Smithfield, Virginia
And for those Hokies that are also Liverpool FC fans, please spare a thought for the 96 that died on April 15, 1989 in the Hillsborough disaster, these last two days are tough to be both...tragic
I had both Liviu Librescu & G. V. Loganathan as professors at VT. They were two of the finest professors I had at Virginia Tech. I feel very fortunate to have been able to have my life and career influenced by these two.
Loganathan was one of my favorite professors when I was tech.
I knew a couple of those that lost their lives. Not well, but well enough to know they were good people. I was a CEE student and '04 graduate so spent a lot of time in Norris. No words.
Didn't know anyone who was killed that day, but pretty much all of my friends did. My roommate had class with and had hung out with the guy who did it, and was stunned when he found out.
All I remember was getting ready for class that day, checking email right before I left for campus only to see an urgent email from my professor in all caps saying to stay at home. Was supposed to have class in Norris 211 a couple hours later that day. Haven't stepped foot inside that building since, not sure I ever will.
One of the things I will never forget is just how awful the media was during this time. They swarmed us while waiting to walk into Cassell for the Convocation like sharks during feeding time, sticking mics in front of everyone trying to get a soundbyte. Local news channels were hitting my parents up while my brother and I were back home hounding for interviews. And then to turn on national news and seeing people like Nancy Grace shouting the most absurd accusations imaginable looking to scapegoat anyone and everyone for what happened. It was bad.
And its really left a very weird ending for college. Everyone else has this experience that they prepare for their exams, and when that last final exam is over, there's that feeling of being done, and all that weight is off your shoulders. Not for us, everything was just.... over. One day you were in class, the next day school is closed, you're watching the President of the United States give a speech a couple hundred feet away from you in a somber Cassell Coliseum in front of the distraught families of 32 of your fellow students and faculty who just died 24 hours earlier, and then find out the remainder of the semester is canceled, exams are optional, and the next time you'll see most of your friends is graduation. Just an absolute surreal experience that I hope nobody ever has to go through again.
Curious, what class did you have in 211 that day? Fellow '07 Alum here - this is so very spot on:
Public speaking, I believe? I might have gotten the room number wrong, could have been 208 now that I think about it. Don't remember for sure, but I remember reading it was one of the rooms with the highest death count, and didn't really care to read much more about it.
Similar situation for me, and same reaction,- I had International Business scheduled later that day in 211. Completely relate.
And then to turn on national news
Larry King interviewed a survivor I think and it was the most awkward painful interview I've ever seen in my life. He is a piece of shit journalist in my book for the rest of my life.
Yessir. We Are Virginia Tech.
My son was a student at the time and lived in West AJ. I learned about the shooting on Tech Sideline about 30 minutes after they happened. I was unable to get in touch with my son for over 3 hours, it was pretty horrible.
My son had class with the shooter, had interactions with Ryan Clark and was friends with Reema Samaha. Of course he suffered from PTSD, but so did I. It took a long while to get passed 4/16 for both of us.
To make matters worse, my Mom dropped dead of a heart attack on the 1st anniversary of the shootings.
This is the first year where I haven't had a bout of depression and sadness coming on the anniversary, so I am thankful for healing.
I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news that day. I was 12 and had always dreamt of one day being a Hokie. Though I don't think I fully comprehended the gravity of this whole situation at that age, I was deeply saddened by what was lost on April 16th. I soon learned that Leslie Sherman, a graduate of my own high school, was one of the victims that day. The track at my high school is now dedicated to her, and I often thought about her and about Hokie Nation as I would run or walk on it. Through all of this, my affinity for our school and community only grew. Once I finally arrived on campus in 2013, my dorm sat right behind the tree in memoriam to Leslie.
I'm so grateful to be a Hokie. I'll always be grateful to be a Hokie.
I saw that Leslie Sherman was from Springfield. What high school did you go to? WSHS, class of 1975.
I went to West Springfield. I can't remember if the track was completed and then dedicated during my time there or right before I started. I remember that at the time the track was constructed it was supposedly the fastest outdoor track in the state. The Leslie Sherman Memorial Invitational is now a yearly track meet at our school. Really cool way to honor her aside from just the track.
That's awesome that they did that for her.
It's been quite a while since I've been back to Springfield, but I grew up right across the street from WSHS on Sherborn Lane. Also went to Cardinal Forest and Irving.
Nice! I spent my whole childhood here and I now live and work here again. Went to Orange Hunt and then Irving as well.
Small world. Even though I've lived up on the Cape for nearly 25 years (longer than I've lived anywhere), I still consider Springfield to be my home town.
Yeah real small world. I've always enjoyed living here and I'm grateful to have been brought up in this area.
Leslie was a pretty good friend of mine from when we both worked at West End. We had both started around the same time and worked together for about two years, often exchanging shifts as needed, as we had both become assistant managers around the same time. It was working at West End where I also met Stack (who was also my now wife's RA) and Mary Read, both of whom worked in the pizza bistro.
Maxine lived on the same floor as me freshman year in Slusher Wing, somehow we were usually the ones helping people who got drunk on Friday/Saturday nights.
I had initially signed up for the German class, but dropped it, as I was a senior, didn't need the extra credit, and could add extra work hours at West End. It gets to me sometimes. Less and less as the years pass, but it's always there.
Aw man. I couldn't imagine. Glad that you ended up not taking that class. I never knew Leslie but I did hear about her from my time at WS and from being in the running community in high school.
As sad and horrible as 4/16/07 was, I'll always remember how Hokie Nation came together on 4/17 and thereafter. We were a family before, but we've been a close family after.
neVer forgeT
We will Prevail!
My first born son turns 13 this upcoming Monday 4/20. Thirteen years ago it was Friday 4/20 - also known as Hokie hope day throughout the nation. Was an emotional time. Eyes are definitely watery as I type this trapped in my house working from home.
I had graduated already and was at work when I got the news. My sister was on campus working at the ticket office and my girlfriend was supposed to be in a class at Norris Hall with another friend of ours that we had season tickets with. I was working as a Walmart manager in salem at the time and couldn't get through to my sister. I did get through to my girlfriend and she had miraculously overslept and missed class. They let me go home early and that was the longest drive of my life from salem to Blacksburg where I still lived in foxridge. Once I got there I found my sister safe in the apartment along with my girlfriend. We watched the news like everyone else...around 7 pm my sister got the call from our friends mom....I've never seen or felt such a surreal moment when she just stud their numb and blank. We lost one of our best friends that day along with 31 other of the greatest Hokies and people that there ever were. Jarrett Lane was from Giles county, he was graduating in a few weeks and headed to the university of Florida for their marine biology program...such a bright future and one hell of a good dude. There wasn't anyone louder fan in our section then he was...body paint and all. Not a day goes by that I don't think about it...god bless all 32 Hokies that we lost that day and may we continue to heal together. Never Forget
I read this piece by Chris Fowler every year...
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/columns/story?columnist=fowler_chris...