The events of April 16 may always provoke grim emotion and dire memories from anyone with an emotional attachment to Virginia Tech, but the healing process for several students injured on that day has been an ongoing, difficult process that many will continue to cope with for the rest of their lives.
Last April, the university provided students with multiple options to finish their semester. Though some university students chose to take the grades they had earned based on work completed before April 16, forgoing the remainder of their spring semester, Derek O'Dell, now a senior majoring in biological sciences, opted to return to campus as soon as possible.
O'Dell was injured in room 207 of Norris Hall on April 16, the victim of a bullet that went entirely through his bicep. O'Dell said that he attended all but two of his classes before the semester's end.
Through his experience healing and coping with the aftermath of that day, O'Dell has found he is now more aware of the little things in life.
"I appreciate things a lot more, looking back and seeing how close to death I came," O'Dell said. "I appreciate all the family and friends and community that have supported me through everything."
Senior international studies major Katelyn Carney, another survivor of 207 Norris, also chose not to let her physical injury sustained that day inhibit her. Despite being shot through the hand by gunman Seung-Hui Cho while trying to shield herself, Carney still managed to attend her sister's wedding just one week later.
For Carney, the Norris classrooms and the 9 a.m. time block will always hold a significant place in her heart.
She has since begun scheduling classes solely in the afternoon and calls her loved ones regularly in the morning.
Carney and O'Dell both said that they visit the Drillfield memorial often, with Carney saying she tries to see it every day.
"When I have any extra fifteen minutes I spend my time at the memorial," Carney said. "The people that we lost were so cultured from all around the world, that to memorialize them in one place, it means so much to everyone."
Elilta Habtu, another Norris Hall survivor, spent a month in the hospital after being shot three times, once in the wrist and twice in the head.
Habtu graduated in May with a degree in psychology. Though she had to return to the hospital immediately after, she was briefly released for the ceremony.
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