Proud to be a Hokie 

99% of the time when I talk about being an alumnus of Virginia Tech, it’s in reference to our football (loving the Coach Fuente era so far) or basketball (Buzzketball!).

Virginia Tech, however, has been been making huge strides in becoming a nationally influential university. I’m lucky that a lot of this started 20 years ago when I was in Blacksburg, under the leadership of Paul Torgersen, through Charles Steger, and now with Timothy Sands. I really do feel lucky to have attended Tech during this time of transition.

I couldn’t be more proud when I read about VT’s impact on the Flint water crisis. It’s something I already knew on the periphery, but reading the details made me feel that much more proud to be an alumnus.

Speaking in the Quillen auditorium, Roy described a call he had received from a woman who was in tears because she had given her children and grandchildren tap water. “She told me she poisoned her kids,” Roy said. “It wasn’t her fault. But a mother’s heart could never accept that. She thanked all of us for what we did. This is why we spent the last six months of our life pulling all-nighters, pulling weekends together, because we cared. And it changed who we are as human beings.”