Caitlin Millar Hammaren, a 19-year-old female, was a promising sophomore at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, known to her friends and family for a contagious smile that she seemed to wear under any circumstance. Originally from Westtown, N.Y., she was pursuing a double major in international studies and French, with a minor in leadership and social change. Beyond her academic pursuits, Caitlin was an active member of her community, serving as the events chair for her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and as a resident advisor in the Residential Leadership Community, a role she was passionate about. Her dedication to this role was so profound that she was inducted into the National Residence Hall Honorary, an organization recognizing the top one percent of residence hall leaders.
On the morning of April 16, 2007, tragedy struck the Blacksburg, Virginia campus. Caitlin was in her French class when a 23-year-old student, Seung-Hui Cho, entered the room and opened fire. She, along with her professor and ten other students in the classroom, became victims of a senseless act of violence that day. In the frantic hours that followed the first news reports of a campus shooting, Caitlin's parents, Marian and Chris Hammaren, embarked on a desperate eight-hour drive from their home in New York, unable to reach their only child by phone. Their worst fears were confirmed upon their arrival in Blacksburg when they were officially notified of their daughter's death.
The perpetrator of the massacre, Seung-Hui Cho, was armed with two pistols and was responsible for the deaths of 32 students and faculty members, and the wounding of 17 others in two separate attacks on the Virginia Tech campus. His rampage ended when he took his own life, leaving behind a campus and a nation in mourning. In the aftermath, those who knew Caitlin remembered a kind and loving individual who had a significant impact on their lives. Her high school principal recalled her as 'one of the most outstanding young individuals' he had encountered in his 31-year career as an educator. Friends from her dorm described her as the 'nicest person' who was always ready to help without hesitation.
