Hokie Nation Unites
Following Tragedy
Ask Seth Greenberg to remember the tragic events of April 16 last year on the Virginia Tech campus, and the veteran basketball coach shakes his head in deep sorrow: “It was our darkest day.”Greenberg was en route to his office at the Cassell Coliseum that morning when the first shots exploded from the barrel of Seung-Hui Cho’s gun. Before the deadliest shooting in American history ended, 32 members of the VT campus community had died.
During the early moments of the catastrophe, Greenberg’s first thought was for his daughter Paige, a VT freshman who lived in a dorm near West Ambler Johnston Hall, where the gunfire began. Once he’d determined that she was safe, he checked in with his wife, Karen — a frequent university volunteer. Within a few hours, Greenberg learned that one of the girls in a sorority where Karen had served as an advisor had been killed during the rampage.
“The shootings were certainly tragic,” he reflects, “but I’ve never been more proud to represent a university. Our students were shining stars throughout those heartbreaking days, and their courage and dedication were second to none.”
“It’s been a long and difficult healing process, but we’re all going through it together,” the coach says. “As the healing continues, I’m hopeful that our basketball team — along with many of the other Virginia Tech sports teams and social organizations — will be able to play an important role in rebuilding our shared sense of community.’
Life on campus is inching back to normal, Greenberg says — which means that basketball fans are once again cheering for the Hokies and bringing the Virginia Tech community closer together.
— T.N.
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