Emily Jane Hilscher had just returned to her dorm when, shortly after 7 a.m., an intruder entered (scroll down fifty percent). Soon thereafter, she was the first victim of America’s worst mass shooting by a single gunman.

Before the horror was over, two people were fatally shot at West Ambler Johnston residence hall while thirty other students and faculty were gunned down at Norris Hall. Seventeen more were wounded, some as they tried to flee.

The story of the Virginia Tech massacre, and the support of VT’s community for each other in its aftermath, is well told on the Hokies’ memorial web site. This is a different story. It celebrates the lives of those who were lost with words written by McMullen County High School students.