Posted by
egottsch on Friday, September 28, 2007 12:49:40 PM
Everyday I think of the cold April morning that I awoke at my apartment in Blacksburg, Virginia ready to take on the day of classes I had before me. I wish to no avail to go back to that morning. It was the morning before my whole life changed. I headed over to the the Virginia Tech campus (Starbucks in hand) to see my biochemistry professor before my first class. I parked in the Cassell Coliseum lot and walked past the frenzied activity at West Ambler Johnson dormitory. Police and ambulances were everywhere. No one spoke to me. I didn't think much of it at the time as we'd had several bomb threats in the weeks preceding that never panned out. I made my way to Dr. Gregory's laboratory and that's when my personal horror began. Dr. Gregory was shocked that I was on campus. Hadn't I heard? Two students shot dead in West A.J. No I hadn't heard. And I wish I never had for that horrific act was just the tip of the iceberg. Before the day was through, I lost 32 members of my family. That kind of thing stays with you. My 32 sisters and brothers are constantly in my thoughts. There's one, however, that I meditate on everyday--Ryan Clark.
If you were a student at Virginia Tech, then you knew Ryan Clark. You may not have met him, talked with him, had a class with him, or met him for lunch, but you had most certainly heard of him. On a campus of 28,000 students Ryan Clark was the one everyone knew. He was almost part of a superhuman race. If there were students organizing to help anyone then Ryan Clark was always one of them. He was a member of our proud band, the Marching Virginians; he was an exceptional student; he was a resident advisor; he was everyone's best friend. And he was just getting started. I often wonder where his energy and enthusiasm came from. It was all I could do to go to class and get my homework done. I didn't have extracurricular activities. I didn't go to New Orleans to help clean up after Katrina. I didn't dole out food at a soup kitchen. I didn't double major. Ryan Clark did (and with an infectious smile on his face). He is an example of what it means to really live life to the fullest.
At Virginia Tech we have a school motto: Ut Prosim (that I may serve). I can't think of any other student or alum that epitomized what VT stands for as well as Ryan Clark. It had been a slogan. Everyone knew it. No one really lived it. Ryan Clark did. When I graduated later that year Ryan began haunting my thoughts. Through all the greatness this world had produced, Ryan is the one that inspires me. My prayer is that I find the fortitude within myself to carry on good works in his name. We have lost a warrior.
I write this as a call to arms. Who have you helped today? We would all be better served by being a little more like Mr. Clark.