I'd like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Penn State community for their show of support to Virginia Tech.

This is especially meaningful to me, as my family is split down the middle between Virginia Tech and Penn State.

My sister and I are Virginia Tech alumni, while my brother and father graduated from Penn State.

In addition, I have an uncle who works at Penn State.

While it may seem that such an atrocity would cause one to lose their faith in mankind, the outpouring of sympathy and support from across the nation, especially from other universities, has shown me that the good, decent side of humanity far outweighs the bad.

While I don't know how we can ever thank everyone, know that those of us in the Hokie Nation are well aware of all these tributes, and are eternally grateful.