"Well, let me give you the story of how I met Emily." wrote Rowan Webster in an e-mail message.
Webster, a friend of Hilscher's continued, "I moved to Rappahannock County about three years ago …I decided to visit some schools in the area …Rappahannock High was a small public school in the middle of the county. While I was walking through the halls, hearing about their athletics, sciences etc. I was excited to learn that culinary classes were something that the school featured and asked for a chance to check them out. Opening up the door, I was greeted by the delicious smells of baking. A girl, with brown hair pulled in a ponytail, wearing a white apron skipped up to me, and thrust a chocolate cupcake right under my nose.'Want a cupcake? What's your name? Mine's Emily.'That's just how she was. Unafraid, unassuming, generous and welcoming."
This smiling, welcoming, brown-haired freshman from Woodville, Va., will be greatly missed by those whose lives she touched.
"She was a wonderful kid—warm, sensitive, outgoing and happy," said family friend John McCarthy to The Roanoke Times.
Hilscher, an animal and poultry sciences major, loved all animals. Horses were no exception. The Roanoke Times said she began showing horses and rode Hunter/Jumpers over fences.The Roanoke Times also interviewed trainer Moody Aylor, who regarded Emily as one of his daughters.He recalled Emily riding as early as age 9 at Old Mill Stables in Woodville.
"She was a beautiful, grown-up person," said Aylor. "She was the most mature person I've ever knew at that age."
The maturity blossomed in college, impressing students and faculty alike.
"Emily Hilscher was a wonderful student to have in class—bright, cheerful, thoughtful."
said freshman composition instructor Nick Kocz in an interview by The Chronicle of Higher Education. "One day, to demonstrate interview techniques, he asked her questions in front of the class.She made it seem fun, he says, It was the moment the students 'really began to gel as a class.'"
"Emily taught me to have faith in in-class unstructured student demonstration," wrote Kocz."I'd feel grateful if even one of my children grew up to be the person she was."
"(She) was always very friendly," said her friend Will Nachless, also 19. "Before I even knew her, I thought she was very outgoing, friendly and helpful, and she was great in chemistry."
A statement released by superintendent Robert Chappell said, "We extend our thoughts, prayers, and sincere condolences to the family of 2006 RCHS graduate Emily Hilscher, her many friends and her teachers as we all mourn the loss of this bright, talented young lady.No words can completely express our collective community sorrow upon the untimely, tragic passing of this child."
No death caused by violence is ever natural. However, Emily may have had a gift, a presence that some may never grasp in a full life—she had people who loved her and she loved them back unconditionally.She was herself and made impressions on people by being just that—a thoughtful, welcoming, generous, smiling person …and so very much more.
"She loved her friends, and they all still feel the same way. After the tragedy at Virginia Tech, I was approached by many reporters. Some asked me if Emily's friends were planning on constructing some sort of memorial to her," wrote Rowan.
He continued, "The love of her friends, the fact that she touched so many lives so deeply, is the greatest monument any person could ever hope to have built in remembrance of their life. We don't need a big stone to keep her in our hearts …It's not just my loss; it's all of ours."
