To the entire Penn State community,

I have spent almost seven years at Virginia Tech both as an undergraduate student and as a grad student. This past week has been a trying time for my beloved school, for institutions of higher learning and for the country as a whole. It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions.

As I sat in a building just 50 feet from Norris Hall Monday morning, disbelief and "it can't be that bad" filled my mind. My friends and I even made light of the situation to break the tension. But then we heard that one person had been killed and another injured -- this is when the mood turned solemn. We began scouring all news sites and incessantly hitting the "refresh" button trying to get news of what was going on. Subsequently, one of my friends came into the room extremely shaken up. He had been in one of the rooms on the second floor of Norris that was able to barricade the door and keep the gunman out. As he and his classmates were eventually evacuated from the building he was able to keep his curiosity at bay and not look into the surrounding rooms. His classmates wished they had done the same. I will not repeat what they saw.

Next, one of my friends heard that his brother had been shot, but no other news. He frantically tried to get to the hospital for more than an hour to see his brother, but the police would not let him leave the building. Just before noon when we were evacuated and sent home he heard that the bullet had only grazed his brother's forehead but had gone through his arm. He would be OK.

After the evacuation when I got home I walked in my apartment and saw the news. The number had climbed to 20. Twenty! This hit me like a ton of bricks and my chest immediately tightened and my eyes filled with tears. As the number continued to climb my thoughts continued to plummet, to spiral down into sadness and sorrow. Not wanting to watch the news anymore I got on Facebook to check on my friends and let people know I was not hurt. This is when I ran across the group: Maroon and Orange for Blue and White Weekend. The ideas for supporting Virginia Tech and honoring the victims were amazing. Reading the posts on the wall brought tears to my eyes. It was my first feeling that there were other people out there who were behind us. People who were mourning, who were praying and who were supporting.

All of last week I checked The Daily Collegian and gopsusports.com to see what the news was going to be for the Blue and White game. On Friday I saw how The Family Clothesline sold 2,000 shirts in half an hour. On Saturday I saw the results of what was first just the brainchild of a few Penn State students on Facebook, and then later swept your campus. The amount of orange and marroon in Beaver Stadium spoke volumes. I know people across the country have expressed their grief, and schools and states have had moments of silence and tolled some bells. But Penn State has responded. You so quickly modified one of your school's traditions to include my school, my VT. This is why whenever I think of the Blue and White game this year my eyes tear up. The sense of family, of love that your school has shown has truly made an impact. Everyone who I have spoken to has greatly appreciated it. I cannot express enough gratitude for your outpouring of support. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You guys have really led me to believe that "while pain is universal...so is hope."