Remembering Leslie Sherman

This week marks the second anniversary of the terrible and senseless shootings at Virginia Tech. Among the thirty-two innocent lives lost was Leslie Sherman, a former student of mine. Needless to say that this is a sad week for many of us at my school and for all of those whose lives were forever touched by this tragic event.

Losing a student under any circumstance is difficult for every teacher. Anyone who has been in the profession for any length of time understands this. Each student is a precious and irreplaceable gift, a unique source of energy and boundless talent and potential. The loss of such a person can be devastating and heartbreaking. Leslie's death was such a loss, for me and for all of those who knew and loved her.

Like many, I have spent the last two years asking the same questions over and over. Why did this happen? Why was such a beautiful person taken from us? What if she had slept in that morning and skipped her class in Norris Hall? What should I have said to her that I failed to say the last time I saw her? And perhaps the most difficult question of all - where was God on the morning of April 16, 2007? Sadly, there are no answers to such questions. There are only more questions.

Leslie was an amazing person. In high school she had distinguished herself as a student leader and scholar-athlete. She was president of our school's History Honor Society and was awarded the Social Studies Award the year she graduated. She was also a leader on our school's cross country team, encouraging her fellow team members to always "run the good race." Her enthusiasm for life and learning was endless, and she always gave her best effort to everything she did both in the classroom and on the track.

But what I remember most about Leslie was her incredible concern for the welfare of others. She did not just talk the talk, but also walked the walk and showed us with her many acts of kindness that one person can make a difference in the lives of many. She had demonstrated these same qualities in her brief time at Virginia Tech where she touched many with her laughter and her never-ending smile. Leslie was a junior when she died, majoring in history and international relations. Had she lived, who knows what she might have accomplished.

As a teacher, I find myself asking still another question - what will I tell my students this year about Leslie when I talk about her on April 16? What lessons can we learn on the anniversary of her death? I suppose it will be something like this: that every day and every minute and every second matters and life is priceless and something to be treasured. That every breath is a gift, and life is too short to complain and too important to waste. That we are all part of the same team here on planet earth, and that we better help each other out because it really is up to us. All of it. That the whole deal is in our hands, and what matters most is what is in our hearts. That a life lived for others is a life well lived.

These are the lessons that Leslie Sherman shared with all of us each and every day. They are the lessons that really matter. They won't be on the quiz tomorrow or the test next week. But maybe they should be.