On a tragic spring day, April 16, 2007, the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, became the scene of a devastating event that cut short the promising life of Matthew Gregory Gwaltney. The 24-year-old male graduate student was among the 32 victims who lost their lives in a senseless act of violence that shook the nation.
Gwaltney, a second-year master's student in Environmental Engineering from Chesterfield, Virginia, was in his Advanced Hydrology class when the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, entered the room and opened fire.
Matthew, born on December 11, 1982, was a distinguished student, having graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2005. He was on the verge of completing his graduate degree, with a future dedicated to improving environmental awareness and education. A passionate sports fan and a master of sports statistics, he was a devoted follower of the Hokies. His cheerful disposition and dedication, both in his academic pursuits and on the basketball and baseball courts at Thomas Dale High School, had earned him many lasting friendships.
The perpetrator of this tragedy was identified as Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old student at Virginia Tech. Armed with two pistols, Cho carried out the attacks in two separate incidents on campus before taking his own life. As Cho died by suicide at the scene, there were no arrests, trial, or conviction for the deaths he caused. The incident, which became known as the Virginia Tech shooting, remains one of the deadliest school shootings in United States history, leaving a permanent scar on the community and the countless lives affected by the loss of individuals like Matthew Gwaltney.
