I am among the great majority out there that did not know anyone who was killed that day, but what happened then had as much an effect on my life as anyone else. My wife Ashley works in Burruss Hall, the building right next to Norris Hall. That day she was scheduled to go to Chicago for work, but we had to come make a stop on campus before taking her to the airport.

I had already heard about the shootings in West Ambler Johnston Hall, but felt no need to avoid campus, as I believed that the individual had been or would soon be caught. We arrived earlier than anticipated and set up our laptops in Schultz dining hall to pass the time.

Eventually we got an e-mail saying that the person responsible for the AJ shootings was still in the area and that campus would be locked down. Not wanting Ashley to miss her flight we slipped out the back door of the building while maintenance workers were locking up the front.

As we drove from Virginia Tech to Roanoke towards the airport, police and rescue vehicles of all kinds sped in the other direction to respond to the violence to which we, at the time, were oblivious.

Seeing so many of them with their lights flashing and their sirens blaring prompted us to call around and find out what was happening. It was still too early in the day to get any good information, so we continued to the airport.

When we got there we learned that the gunman had made his way to Norris Hall. No estimates were given on the number of people injured or whether the situation had been handled. While we waited for the flight to board the numbers started coming in.

It went from just a few shot and injured to nine confirmed dead. Nine became 12; 12 turned into 15, which jumped to 18. By the time Ashley got on the plane, the number of people killed held steady at 22.

When she touched down in Chicago, 11 more deaths had been announced. The news was staggering to say the least.

Obviously there was no shortage of media that day, but as a student-journalist with Planet Blacksburg, I felt that I was needed back at school to help find out what was happening and to communicate that information to the public.

The media frenzy was almost too intense to process. News trucks from all over the country filled the parking lots. Reporters and camera crews scrambled to get interviews from whomever they could grab.

I heard about reporters sneaking into classrooms for stories. I saw students broken down crying because the media members would not leave them alone. Just the attention itself was overwhelming for many.

For all the accomplishments of our university, we were not used to the nationwide media taking an interest in us for anything outside of the football program. Now we had to deal with the most terrible of situations on an extremely public stage. I’m proud of the way we represented ourselves and ashamed at the actions of some of the reporters.

The Power Of Healing:

The one positive by-product of all the coverage was the outpouring of support that came in from all over the world. I work in the student center, and our building became a veritable museum of banners and cards and letters and pictures and art and gifts from every corner of the globe to show support for what we had just experienced.

There were huge vinyl banners, signed by entire universities, sent in. Just as moving were the handmade cards that came from local elementary schools. Knowing that the pain we felt had found a way to reach the hearts of young children was both touching and upsetting.

We received letters in every language and the most creative, thoughtful tributes to the victims. James Madison University sent a statue of its mascot, the bulldog, painted up in Tech’s orange and maroon. We hung quilts with the faces of the victims stitched on them. For weeks afterwards we received flowers. While the shootings tested your faith in the human race, the support from outside the campus restored it.

Within our own campus we dealt with it as best we could. Hokies United worked to put on community gatherings so that we could celebrate the lives of the victims together and help each other cope. The family atmosphere expanded. The community bonds strengthened.

Perhaps the biggest healing events of the past year were the Concert For Virginia Tech, where Dave Matthews Band, Phil Vassar, Nas and John Mayer performed in Lane Stadium for free, and the first football game of the season.

I had never been to a concert in that large a venue before, and to be surrounded by so many of my fellow Hokies was a truly moving event. The artists put on a tremendous show for us and for that we are grateful.

Eventually the public grieving subsided. We needed to continue moving forward as a university. Much of the support donations were removed from the student center and archived. A semi-permanent memorial to the victims was created on the Drillfield.

Norris Hall was reopened so that research could once again be conducted there. I know that not everyone was thrilled to see the memorial items taken down, but most would agree that they could not stay up forever. The grief over April 16 went from an external process to an internal one.

Support groups still meet. Counseling is still available. People still recount what happened that day. But outwardly things have gotten back to as “normal” an everyday experience as you can ask for.

Moving Forward:

Tech has tried very hard to show its appreciation for everything done to help us through this. Earlier this year we organized a gathering on the Drillfield where people standing outside spelled out the words “VT THANKS YOU” for an aerial/satellite photograph. The school put together VT Engage, a community-wide service initiative to generate 300,000 hours of volunteer community service. So far over 400,000 hours have been pledged.

It hasn’t been easy. People are still experiencing deep emotional pain. There have been legal battles between the university and some of the victims’ families. There has been criticism over the way things were handled.

There is still crime in Blacksburg, just like there is everywhere else in the world, but I think people here care more. They care more about each other and they care more about the issues than ever before. We now have a perspective on the world that few possess.

I hope that the students of Northern Illinois University took comfort in the messages we sent them after the shootings on their campus in February. We felt their pain and marveled at their strength. For us there was no comparison, just camaraderie.

I have friends who graduated before all this took place and have yet to return out of fear that things are different. I assure them that things are different yet nearly identical to what they’d remember.

It’s similar to losing a family member. Your world is uprooted and you never stop thinking about them, but in time you get back to your life and the memories you recall are happy ones.

It’s like that here. Each of the 32 victims lived extraordinarily full lives before they were taken from this world. For that they will continue to be remembered and celebrated.

Meanwhile, we will continue on as if they never left us; striving to change the world for the better. Just like we did ten years ago. Jus like we’ve always done. Just like they would have wanted. We are Virginia Tech.