* * Proud to be a Hokie

It goes without saying that April 16, 2007 was the worst day in the lives of most everybody around here. Nobody was untouched by the tragedy that unfolded that day on the campus of Virginia Tech. I don’t suppose many of us will ever be fully healed. But I think the commencement speeches of Senator Mark Warner and First Lady Michelle Obama last week has really helped.

Work commitments prevented my attendance in Lane Stadium on that picture-perfect day. But I was able to watch and listen on a live stream on the Internet. Their words struck me profoundly and emotionally.

I am a 1976 graduate of Virginia Tech; it was the only school to which I applied. My dad graduated there and mom graduated from Radford College when it was a division of Tech (or VPI in those days). My wife earned a doctorate at Tech and my daughter goes there now. For most of my life, if I got cut, I bled maroon. My ties are deep.

When an insanely brutal murderer took all those Hokie lives five years ago, it struck deeply into our cultural roots here in Southwest Virginia. I think most of us see ourselves as gentle, accepting people. Mass murder was an affront to our sensibilities, and outrage has matched horror in our collective psyches.

My understanding was that Senator Warner was invited to speak, but Mrs. Obama asked university officials if she could speak as well. There’s no doubt in my mind that she chose Virginia Tech as one of three places to speak because of what happened five years ago. She wanted to be here because she understood what we’d been through, how we wrapped our arms around one another and moved forward as a community.

Warner spoke first. I have had the honor and pleasure of meeting him on several occasions and in my estimation he has grown as a speaker and motivator. He’s also gotten funnier! (“My advice to you,” he said, “Call your mother!”) But a serious note got my attention. He said, “In the awful moments after the April 16, 2007, shootings, many asked ‘Who will go to Virginia Tech now?’ You raised your hand, and said, ‘I will.’”

He’s right: many graduates and residents in Blacksburg were asking that. We were worried. But our worries proved to be unfounded. I learned from a friend in the admissions office that applications had actually gone up substantially in the following year. The news media placed our Hokie Nation under their piercing glare, trying desperately to show the world that we were vitriolic, bitter, and spiteful, but instead we were calm, respectful, and deeply, deeply sad. I’m certain that thousands of kids saw that and said to themselves, “There is a real community in the Hokie Nation, and I want to be part of that.”

Warner stressed the power of failure as a learning experience, something that struck a chord in me. He failed miserably in his first business ventures. My career path has been crooked and filled with potholes, but I’ve found reasonable success (although nowhere near Warner’s!) by staying positive and taking risks. Kids coming out of Tech today face an uncertain economy and a rapidly changing marketplace. We haven’t made it easy for them. Looking back, I remember virtually nothing I learned in my Mechanical Engineering curriculum other than not to be intimidated by problems, but to address them with logic, purpose, and dedication to task.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Mrs. Obama’s husband, she’s difficult not to admire and adore. She exudes grace and sincerity. She graduated with honors from two of the nation’s best universities, Princeton and Harvard. Later, she traded a comfortable job in private law for one in public service. Her signature issues have been support for military families, encouraging national service, and fostering better childhood health. In spite of her vast wisdom and experience, she said she came to Blacksburg to learn from us! She said, “Like so many people across this country and around the world, I have been following the journey of this school. I have witnessed the strength and spirit of the Hokie Nation. And I think that you all already learned plenty of lessons here at Virginia Tech.”

Warner had already said much the same thing, “The nation has watched you, and we have been impressed.”

Seeing the First Lady walk onto the field at Lane Stadium, slapping the Hokie Stone above the entrance where the words, “For those who have passed, for those to come, reach for excellence,” appear, and then address the Hokie Nation wearing a black gown trimmed in Chicago maroon and burnt orange, was pretty gosh-darned special.