In Memorium for The Pride of VPI

" V. P., old V. P. You know our hearts are with you,

In our luck which never seems to die;

Win or lose we'll greet you with a glad returning,

You're the pride of V. P. I. "

- from the Virginia Tech Fight Song.

Ross Abdullah Alameddine

Christopher James Bishop

Brian Roy Bluhm

Ryan Christopher Clark

Austin Michelle Cloyd

Jocelyne Couture-Nowak

Kevin P. Granata

Matthew Gregory Gwaltney

Caitlin Millar Hammaren

Jeremy Michael Herbstritt

Rachel Hill

Emily Jane Hilscher

Jarrett Lee Lane

Matthew Josepeh LaPorte

Henry J. Lee

Liviu Librescu

G.V. Loganathan

Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoraun

Lauren Ashley McCain

Daniel Patrick O'Neil

Juan Ramon Ortiz

Minal Hiralal Panchal

Daniel Alejandro Perez Cueva

Erin Nichole Peterson

Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.

Julia Kathleen Pryde

Mary Karen Read

Reema Joseph Samaha

Waleed Mohamed Shaalan

Leslie Geraldine Sherman

Maxine Shelley Turner

Nicole Regina White

On the first day of class every semester I begin this way: "There are more than 100 of you. There is only one of me. You have the advantage of having to learn just one name. I have to learn over 100. If you are a man, I will know you name by the end of class today. If you are exotic in your appearance, I will know your name by the end of class next week. But if you are a woman in your early twenties with sandy brown or ash blonde shoulder length hair...I will never learn your name." The class always laughs at this while the dozens of women who fit that description look at one another.

Of course, what I say isn't entirely true. They soon learn that anonymity isn't easily achieved in my courses. Over the weeks they hear me say, "Tell me your name. OK, now tell me (where I would find you in a bookstore, what animal are you most like, what song do you play most on your iPod, where is your favorite place to be?) That is how I fit the names to the faces. In about a month I know them all. There is Jennifer "I don't read, I drink coffee. Look for me at the coffee bar." There is also Willa "the Rabbit, " Jeanne "Anything by Lumidee," and "In my Hot Tub" Erin.

I cannot place faces to the names from Virginia Tech. I do not know where I would find them in a bookstore, or what animal they thought they resembled, or what music flowed into their ears that no one else could hear. But even so, they are not anonymous. I feel their loss keenly. It is a rare priviledge to be a university professor and to have the pleasure of shaping student lives. That's always been the payoff for me. Earning acceptance in a top tier university is difficult. You need to have your best game on and distinguish yourself within your discipline if you are a faculty member. If you are a student you have to demonstrate outstanding scholarship. I know that I am lucky to have been able to do that in both roles. Mourning for my sister school brings that thought to the forefront of my mind. I am incredibly fortunate. I need to remember not to take my good fortune for granted. I need to make sure I always have my best game on.