Kick Drum Heart

FOR THOSE WE WILL NEVER KNOW

“Carnage, a
bloodbath”
“Don’t know why”
“Deadliest
mass shooting”
“Could not escape”
Headlines say

This is
For those who will
never know
The dead:
The students
The teachers.
The loved

HENRY J. LEE (HENH LY)
had an open smile and
zany personality.

LESLIE GERALDINE SHERMAN
had, since
childhood
donated half of what she had
to people
in need
she was
a gift to all who
knew her.

BRIAN BLUHM
is remember for love of God,
family, friends, the
Detroit Tigers, and
Virginia Tech.

ROSS ALAMEDDINE
‘here’s a man who was going to make his
children laugh
here is a man who deserves the title
“beloved”
here is a man who
makes you a
better person’

MICHAEL POHLE JR.
constantly ventured
to learn new things
curious about everything
around him

REEMA SAMAHA
won her high school’s talent show
by belly dancing
and embraced her Lebanese
heritage every day

LAUREN McCAIN
viewed everyone
as uniquely valuable
invested herself in
everyone
she met

CHRISTOPHER “JAMIE” BISHOP
techno guru, gifted photographer
art vibrantly captures
intensity
died at the age of thirty-five
learning about and understanding
humanity

MARY KAREN READ
had deep faith
evident
in every aspect of
her life

JOCELYNE COUTURE-NOWAK
loved nature
loved French
embraced her heritage
“effervescent”
a vivacious
swirl of
life

DANIEL PEREZ
could accomplish
anything he
put his
mind to

MINAL PANCHAL
childlike enthusiasm and
infectious
laughter

ERIN PETERSON
a blend of warmth and
magnetism
anchored
by a sound
moral compass

JUAN RAMON ORTIZ-ORTIZ
loved music
played the timbales
and was married to
Liselle

DR. KEVIN P. GRANATA
passionate- first and foremost about his
wife
Linda, and their children
Eric
Alex, and
Ellen

WALEED SHAALAN
simplest and nicest
guy, from
Egypt
left behind his wife of three years
and his
one-year-old
son

CAITLIN HAMMAREN
had a way of making
others feels as if they
were her
best friend

MATTHEW LA PORTE
a cadet with
unlimited
potential

NICOLE REGINA WHITE
wanted to know
people
as they really were
not as they
appeared

MATTHEW GUALTNEY
master of sports statistics and
trivia
wanted to protect the environmnet
and improve life

JULIA PRYDE
was always in
pursuit of a
better world, and a
better self
and was also
a certified
wild-land firefighter

MAXINE “MAX” TURNER
fiercely independent, and could
often be found in pajamas and
bunny slippers
doing chemical engineering
while watching
“Spongebob”

DR. G.V. LOGANATHAN
incredibly wise and
gentle
called by many
“best professor
I ever had”

RYAN CLARK
spent two weeks of every
summer for the
past eight years, working with
mentally impaired
children

RACHAEL HILL
her personal goal?
to glorify
God

EMILY HILSCHER
a skilled horsewoman
animal lover
would have been
a veterinarian

DR. LIVIU LIBRESCU
stalwart determination
survived the Holocaust
blocked the classroom door
so his students could escape
brave Romanian
was one of the world’s most
respected engineers

DANIEL O’NEIL
had recently returned from visiting
his host family
overseas
planned to live in Dublin,
Ireland
after graduation

JEREMY HERBSTRITT
had been helping his
sister Jennifer train
for the Boston
Marathon

AUSTIN CLOYD
brilliant mind, tall, red hair
a compassionate heart, and an
iron will
not only wanted to help others
she did

PARTHAHI “MORA” LUMBANTORUAN
calm, talented
caring
died a
hero
spend final moments
sacrificing himself to
save the life of
another

JARRETT LANE
had been full of spirit

These are the
dead:
Thirty-two
gone.
Thirty-two lives
The world will
never know.

(Works Cited)

In Memoriam. Virginia Tech Magazine. May 2007. 2 Oct. 2009. .

Virginia Tech Shooting Leaves 33 Dead. The New York Times. April 2007. 2 Oct. 2009. .