Student: Nothing will shatter Hokie spirit

Story Highlights

• Student helps news media get message out for 32 victims
• News trucks trickle out of town; students, alum come together
• Students destroyed when friends were listed among the dead and wounded
• Slogan: "If God isn't a Hokie, then why do the leaves turn orange and maroon?"

By Josh Whitehead
Special to CNN.com

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Editor's note: Josh Whitehead is a junior at Virginia Tech majoring in business management. This week he worked as a "fixer" for CNN, helping the network's crews at the scene.

BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- I am a Hokie. Virginia Tech is my school, my home and my life. The morning of the tragic events this week, I was woken up by a phone call telling me there was a shooting in a dorm.

Shortly after that, another call from a friend said there was a gunman loose and not to go to campus. This sounds like a typical account of events, but there's one large difference.

I have been working with CNN since I heard about the first shooting. Once reporters arrived in Blacksburg, we began finding people who wanted to talk. While walking toward the scene of the events, we came across a girl who was in Norris Hall and saw her friends' lives taken.

This was the first time I felt the tears in my eyes, but certainly not the last.

I have helped the large group of "visitors" find their way around our town in much the way you would for a freshman arriving in August. The days following have felt like weeks. Emotions have dramatically changed on this campus.

Many were fearful when their friends were missing, angry when the answers to questions didn't come and destroyed when their friends were listed among those killed or wounded.

Many people have asked me why I would help the news media. I don't question my decision. Virginia Tech is my home, and I want the world to hear this story. I have helped clear up rumors and errors. There are people who want to talk, and I helped them get their words out. This is how I served my university.

Today is the official day of mourning, so I began my day by visiting the memorials on the drill field. This was the first time I had been in that area and let it soak in.

While standing by the ring of 32 Hokie memorial stones, an older woman in a maroon jacket stepped behind me. She put her hand on my shoulder, saying the title of our fight song: "Tech Triumph." (Watch bells ring across campus )

I couldn't agree more.

The news trucks are trickling out of town today as students and alumni trickle in. Blacksburg is returning to the student-dominated town it was last week -- although a tragically changed community.

The end of the semester is thankfully nearing, and the summer will be a time of healing for many before their return in the fall.

There is a slogan here: "If God isn't a Hokie, then why do the leaves turn orange and maroon?"

This fall he will have 32 people helping him with the task.

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