As the events unfolded last week at Virginia Tech every new piece of information was more shocking and horrifying than the last. It was a snowball effect that turned into an avalanche. It hasn’t really stopped since.

There were really no bright spots last Monday save one: hearing that all Goochland’s students were unharmed.

When a calamity of that magnitude occurs all one can do from a distance is hope for the best, and wish the best, for all those directly involved. But in a way it seemed that everyone was somehow affected by the tragedy. It is said there no more than six degrees of separation between any two people. In this case that number seemed even smaller. Everyone I’ve spoken to knows someone who knows someone who was directly, and often tragically, linked to that Monday’s terrible events. 

One of the first things we wanted to do here was to make sure all of Goochland’s many Virginia Tech students were safe and sound. Luckily, they were.

Many had close calls — some had classes in Norris Hall, others lived on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnson dormitory where the first shooting occured. But beyond their accounts of the panic and terror, what really impressed me in talking with several students that afternoon and evening was the relationship between Goochland’s Virginia Tech students, and the bond between their families.

Regardless of age, all of the Goochland Hokies knew one another, had each other’s cell phone numbers, and most importantly, had already been in touch that morning directly or through their families. One student I spoke to said that after calling home to let his parents know he was okay the first thing he did was start calling his fellow Goochlanders. He knew them all.

Goochland schools and the families of the students were equally quick to react. High school staff immediately began contacting recent graduates, and the families of students began a phone tree to account for everyone. Results came back quickly and by mid-day Monday all of the families, students and school staff I spoke with were all but certain that everyone was safe.

Sometimes it takes the worst situations to bring out the best of what’s around us.

The concern and connection between a fairly large network of people was truly a remarkable thing to witness and speaks well for Goochland that such a sense of community exists here, and beyond, even among the younger members of the community.

Goochland will continue to change, but hopefully that never will.