Virginia Tech: Blacksburg, VA

Last week recruiting activities took me back to school after long - only this time it was not Carnegie Mellon but Hokie Land - Virginia Tech. The Virginia Tech campus is located in the New River Valley in the Valley and Ridge physiographic region of the Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia, a few miles from the Jefferson National Forest in Montgomery County.

The campus and school received increased international attention due to a mass shooting by a student on April 16, 2007.

In the hours and days following the shooting, makeshift memorials to those killed or injured began appearing in several locations on the campus.

Many people placed flowers and items of remembrance at the base of the Drillfield observation podium in front of Burruss Hall. Later, members of Hokies United placed 32 pieces of Hokie Stone, each labeled with the name of a victim, in a semicircle in front of the Drillfield viewing stand.

As I stood in front of the memorial my throat choked. I wondered if Life as we know it can be cut short by such a short act of madness so easily? Death is unavoidable but I felt as if living Life to the fullest, while being at piece with the truth of everyone's end, should be an important aspect of my life going forward.

It was hard to miss the symbolic gestures of love around this monument which was originally created due to a deadly tragedy. National flags, birthday balloons, fresh flowers and letters - all spoke volumes about why the human spirit has always been defiantly stronger in love than in hatred.

"Together Forever, Never Apart. Maybe in distance but never at heart". I checked with some college students as they confirmed that it had rained couple of days back. Given that the text on this envelop was still intact, I was convinced it was fresh and that the lost ones are still sorely missed.

As I stood speechless outside Norris Hall (the site of the second shooting where 30 folks were killed) for close to 30 minutes, I called a close friend of mine who had graduated from VTech. He asked me not to associate the place JUST with the shootings and to look around and feel the Hokie spirit which is the strength of the campus.


It was hard to miss it - every third person on campus had something relating to its mascot. Even the Indian janitor was wearing a Hokie T shirt - it was amazing to see how closely they hold on to this tremendous source of inspiration which binds the community together.

Norris hall is a beautiful piece of architecture. The building is to be completely renovated over time, and it will no longer contain classrooms. Students passing through this passage of the building did not show any emotions and look calm as in any other university. Maybe it was a big deal for me to confront such a tragedy where it happened.

I felt alright after a while since you can hardly miss the other beautiful things at the University. On the northwestern side of the Drillfield lies the War Memorial which honors Congressional medal holders during WW2 who graduated from the university. Founded as a military college, Virginia Tech is one of the few public universities in the United States which continues to maintain a corps of cadets (a full-time military training program).

Amongst other things, spring was in full bloom in the university.
The Drillfield, similar to the Cut at Carnegie Mellon, is a green oasis in the center of the university. Students use it to play, sit, sun bathe and of course, hold military drills. The Drillfield got its name from the fact that it has historically been used by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets to conduct military drills.

Torgersen Hall bridge over Alumni Mall. Torgersen is an example of architecture using Hokie Stone. Down this road, the first thing outside the campus is a bar - as my friend would vouch for it, VTech is surely famous for its drinking habits.

At the end of the two days, it felt really good to spend some time at a campus. The smell of grass and the toilet cleaners (yes! they use the same toilet cleaners as they do at CMU or maybe they smell the same) took me back a year to Pittsburgh. Aah, I miss the student life so much...