On April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech in Blacksburg was the scene of a mass shooting that left 32 people dead. Among them was Nicole Regina White, a 20-year-old junior from Smithfield, Virginia, who was a student of international studies with a minor in political science. She was in her German class in Norris Hall when the gunman opened fire.

Nicole had trained as an emergency medical technician and volunteered with the Smithfield Volunteer Rescue Squad before college. While at Virginia Tech she volunteered at an animal shelter and a women’s abuse center. Friends and family remembered her as compassionate, generous, and focused on understanding people for who they were. The attacker was identified as Seung-Hui Cho; he carried out shootings in two campus locations and died at the scene. Nicole’s name is engraved on a stone in the April 16 Memorial on campus.

Does anyone who knew Nicole or has memories of her work in Smithfield or Blacksburg want to share remembrances or information?