My wake-up moment occurred on a chilly April morning in room 211 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech. The peace and identity of a community was shaken as an intruder committed the worst mass shooting in United States history. Three years have passed since the outside world saw my experience through the window lens of a camera- with the all too familiar photograph outside of Norris Hall.

As I look forward to creating more defining moments in my life, I do not want the world to remember only the violence that occurred on April 16, 2007. The shootings are not too sad or scary to be discussed solely on these terms. Rather we can hear the story as a call to change and as a voice to create a positive difference.

4-16 has effectively changed what it means to be a student, professor, administrator or police officer on campus. Officials are realizing that student awareness and safety education is now a priority, not a buzzword. Educational institutions must loudly acknowledge their unmistakable responsibility and pledge to educate and protect their students without limits of circumstance or convenience. Students must demand this knowledge and contribute to an interdependent network where everyone is an agent of mutual safety, where everyone accepts the liability and consequences of not speaking out.

The Koshka Foundation will speak to the lives and memories of those that perished on April 16, 2007 in a meaningful way. To pass along the memory and lessons of our tragedy, the foundation will pursue innovative solutions to peacemaking. At each step of the foundation’s goals– from improving school safety to changing the ways in which we interact- we aim to teach others to reject violence, intolerance and ignorance towards the unknown.