Struggling to balance grief with a graduation celebration, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger handed out class rings yesterday and today individual college degrees to the 27 students killed in April's Tragedy. They were represented today by friends and family members as their pictures flashed on a screen above.
"Short was their stay on this mortal stage. Great was their impact." ... President Steger
“You feel like a split personality,” said Lisa Borel, whose daughter, Paige, graduated that day. “Half of your heart is so excited, so full of joy, and half your heart is with the families of the kids who didn't make it, and you just carry that with you all the time.”
These are the names of the students and faculty honored today:
Ross Abdallah Alameddine, Christopher James Bishop,
Brian Roy Bluhm, Ryan Christopher Clark,
Austin Michelle Cloyd, Jocelyne Couture-Nowak,
Kevin P. Granata, Matthew Gregory Gwaltney,
Kevin P. Granata, Matthew Gregory Gwaltney,
Caitlin Millar Hammaren, Jeremy Michael Herbstritt,
Rachael Elizabeth Hill, Emily Jane Hilscher,
Jarrett Lee Lane, Matthew Joseph La Porte,
Jarrett Lee Lane, Matthew Joseph La Porte,
Henry J. Lee, Liviu Librescu, G.V. Loganathan,
Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan ,
Lauren Ashley McCain, Daniel Patrick O'Neil,
Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz, Minal Hiralal Panchal,
Daniel Alejandro Perez, Erin Nicole Peterson,
Michael Steven Pohle, Jr., Julia Kathleen Pryde,
Mary Karen Read, Reema Joseph Samaha,
Waleed Mohamed Shaalan, Leslie Geraldine Sherman,
Maxine Shelly Turner, and Nicole Regina White
"We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness... We will prevail..."
-- Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor, poet, activist