There was not a cloud in the clear blue sky, as Virginia Tech students returned to campus on Sunday. Both parents and students were dressed in maroon and burnt orange as they made their way back to a place filled with heavy emotions.
There's always a fine line we as journalists must walk when covering stories like this. How do you approach a student or a parent who has gone through the unthinkable?
Cautious of their emotions but yet eager to do our job and tell their story, one must tread lightly. We found many of the people we spoke to were happy to discuss their feelings.
One tech student, engineering major Kristen Paterson, spoke to us right after she walked through the student-erected memorial on the drill field.
Paterson said memorials like this are necessary to heal.
"The overall feeling in the school has been great. It's really helpful when we all just come together and have memorials like this and our candlelight vigil. It really does help when we can come together and grieve together."
The sense of unity on this campus is overwhelming. It's hard for someone like myself who's experiencing it for the first time, not to be amazed by the sheer courage and camaraderie of these Virginia Tech students, who seem filled with Hokie pride.
-- By Brian Vitagliano, CNN Producer
