Brandon Carroll
 
April 16th Speech
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Good evening my fellow Hokies. Today, I stand before you on the third anniversary of the darkest day in Virginia Tech history. The day a tragedy of monumental proportions struck our campus. I am here today to remember the 32 beautiful lives we lost, and to try to ensure this day of remembrance never fades away from our community.

 

I want to begin this evening’s vigil by quoting the editor of TechSideline, Will Stewart, who described what being a Hokie is all about. "Being a Hokie is not a mercenary relationship. It is not a business proposition. It is not an exchange of goods and services for money. It is a shared bond, a love that comes from somewhere we don't understand and can't explain to others. We do not take from this university; it gives to us. Perhaps when we first arrive on its campus, we have our own selfish interests in mind, but by the time we leave, we are transformed. We are Hokies."

 

What I learned from April 16th is one simple lesson: Love shines through

 

I still feel the love and warmth from the 32 lives taken away from us too soon. Every day, I go to class….. I see the memorial and I truly feel their spirit. They are with us when we are weak, and they are supportive when we are strong. Their memories live on today.

 

I will never forget the outpouring of support our community saw from across the world. Cards of encouragement to help ease the pain, quilts to warm the heart, and visits that ranged from Alaska to Australia to show they cared.

 

 

The media tried to divide our community, but love guided the way. Evil entered our campus and took a part of our community from us. What we have learned is that evil will not define us. We are a community bonded together by a special sense of love that cannot adequately be explained with words. We are a family who put more into relationships than we receive and we embrace that concept. We will continue to live for 32. Their lives are forever etched in our hearts. Their memories will not wither away….

 

We appreciate the expected support of candle vigils tonight, but please do not light your candles until all 32 candles surrounding the memorial are lit.  There are 32 Hokies who will take the collective light from the 24-hour candle and begin to spread the light that shines from above. The light comes from inside of Burruss to signify that Virginia Tech will never forget.

 

Once the vigil is lighted, we will take the light from the ceremonial light and remember those who lost their lives on April 16, 2007 and spread their light into the community and share it with the world.

 

We are here today to remember. Their memories live on. Do we Cry? Do we Reflect? Do we Love More? We all grieve in our own separate ways. But, what we have learned is that we are not independent. Rather, we are interdependent. We lean on one another, we need each other....our community is stronger, our lives are forever changed.  We now truly understand what it means to be a Hokie. The 32 embody what we all aspire to be and their memories live on today. Do not let this day of remembrance be forgotten. Let love light the way. Let love shine through.
 


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