We are the Hokies...we will prevail

It’s hard to put down in words what we are feeling right now. It’s up and down…grief…sadness…pride…disbelief. We have been celebrating the life of our dear friend Stack (Ryan Clark), remembering all of our good times, and how awesome he was. (Because…he was absolutely AMAZING!!!) We’ve been grieving him, along with 31 other lost Hokies. It is difficult walking around our beautiful campus, our home, our alma mater, and understanding that this happened here. You never expect anything like this to happen, and it breaks my heart, as this is the place we love. James and I met in AJ, where the first shootings took place, we lived there for three happy years, and named our puppy after the hall. He looks like Hokie stone, and we wanted to always remember our happy memories at Virginia Tech in AJ (Ambler Johnston). Stack was killed in AJ, at 7:15 in the morning, doing his job as an RA. It’s hard to imagine that we were RA’s in that building last year, responding to arguments and strange situations all the time, never expecting to get hurt, only there to help. Stack gave his life trying to protect one of his residents, doing a job that he loved. Our lives will never be the same, but he is with us as we share memories and see all of the lives he touched besides ours. The outpour of love and support has been amazing, and the support from our fellow Hokie family has been indescribable. We love this community, and we support Virginia Tech and our administrators and police force. Though the Hokie stone is haunting right now, we still love it, and we will never ever forget Monday, April 16th. It is hard to move past what we still do not fully understand and can’t fully comprehend, but we know that we will. We love Virginia Tech, and the Hokies will prevail. We will prevail.