Letter: Prayers for Virginia Tech
Letter to the editor
April 19, 2007
To the students and faculty at Virginia Tech University:
I am writing this letter to you in hopes that my words may bring you some comfort, much the way your support brought my family comfort in the aftermath of my brother's untimely passing in March of 2001. (Michael C. Ziegler, Class of 2001)
The two events are vastly different, of course. But as time passes, I have learned, there will be many similarities. When the dust begins to settle out of the horrific event you have just shared, you will continue to ask questions. As time goes by, certain memories will not be able to be erased from your minds. My hope and advice is for you to focus on the good that will come from this infamous event.
That may sound silly and maybe impossible to some, but it is there. The healing process has already begun for many. We at home can see the images of students gathering together, hugging, praying and leaning on each other for emotional support. It brings back a wave of images that have come burning back from the depths of my memories when I traveled to Blacksburg for my brother's memorial service.
Students that I had never met, went out of their ways to talk with me and convey their thoughts and feelings, on how even though they were just classmates of my brother, his passing had an impact on their lives and made them reevaluate things in their own lives. I can also recall the faculty and staff members who also went out of their way to see if there was anything that could be done to help. To this day, I still correspond with Dr. Brian Kleiner, one of Mike's former professors. Then, there was the graduation ceremony that took place about a month later. During the commencement, the university posthumously awarded Mike his degree and presented it to our family. That was a moment when the true greatness of your school shown at its brightest, because during that presentation, all of his classmates stood silently in his honor. It will always stand as a very positive memory in light of a very heartbreaking event for my family.
There are no good answers for this awful tragedy, only the comfort in knowing that time does eventually heal all wounds. I hope that you are able to ultimately focus on the good that comes from this event and allow it to solidify your belief that in times like these, the human spirit will triumph in the darkest of hours.
Lastly, I wanted to let you know that there are thousands, if not millions of people like myself, who are hurting with you. I hurt for the school that my brother loved very much, and for the school that loved him back when we needed it the most. May God Bless You All.
Sincerely,
Bill Ziegler
Pittsburgh, PA