Caroline Merrey

Caroline Merrey
22, Parkville, Md.
Caroline Merrey still sends e-mail messages to former classmates who, like her, escaped from Liviu Librescu's class April 16. But now that she has graduated and moved to take a job in Chicago, Merrey said, "I feel like I'm kind of on a different planet out here. A lot of them are still back in Virginia."

Merrey, who now lives in Mt. Prospect, Ill., fell onto her back after jumping out a second-floor window to escape the shootings, but was released from the hospital hours later. Before starting as an assistant engineer at Parsons Brinckerhoff, she spent part of the summer on vacation in the Cayman Islands and the Wisconsin Dells.

Hilary Strollo

Hilary Strollo
19, Gibsonia, Pa.

A few days after Hilary Strollo was shot in the head, abdomen and buttocks, she vowed to her brother she would return to campus before the semester was out. "I want to dominate my finals," she said. It was Strollo who waved to the Hokie marching band from her hospital window three days after the shootings and started the "Let's go, Hokies!" cheer.

But her smile faded as her wounds worsened. She was rehospitalized for emergency surgery in Pittsburgh, where her parents are doctors. All told, she had four surgeries, including one to remove a bullet lodged in her spine and one to repair her liver, which had become infected after her initial release.

Her brother Patrick, who graduated from Tech in May, spent the summer tending to his sister at the family home in Gibsonia, Pa.

"Right now, we're really focused on trying to help Hilary get better and get her life back to normal," he said in a June interview. He added that she would "probably" be returning to Tech, though the family declined recent requests for an update.

Jamal Carver

Jamal Carver
21, Virginia Beach, Va.

Jamal Carver spent the summer relaxing and undergoing physical rehabilitation in his hometown of Virginia Beach. The 21-year-old engineering science and mechanics major was shot in the arm and side, spent a week in the hospital and is still doing rehab. By e-mail, Carver said he is coming back to Tech, expects to graduate in the spring and will probably go to graduate school.

Colin Goddard

Colin Goddard
21

Bullets went into his leg, his buttocks and his shoulder, but Colin Goddard, a senior in international studies, wasn't about to change his plans for the summer.

"I had this opportunity ... and that wasn't possible if I couldn't walk," Goddard told The Associated Press in June. "So it was a goal that I set myself, to be able to walk in time."

After surgery that left him with a metal rod in his leg and weeks of physical therapy, Goddard made it. His quote came from Madagascar, where he's serving as a volunteer for CARE International.

"Some parents would be afraid to let their kid go," his mother, Anne, told AP. "I'm not. I want him to come back in August talking about something very different."

Allison Cook

Allison Cook and Emily Haas
Henrico County, Va.

Allison Cook and Emily Haas are both juniors, both from the Richmond area where they were friends before going to Virginia Tech, and both in the same sorority. Both were in the same French class when they were shot.

Cook was hit in the lower back, side and shoulder and spent a week in the hospital. She suffered a collapsed lung. Haas was grazed in the head by two bullets, received two stitches and left the hospital the day of the shooting.

Emily Haas

According to an article in The Arrow, the Pi Phi sorority magazine, Cook and Haas have recovered well and worked summer jobs -- Cook as a lifeguard and Haas as a nanny. Both also met Queen Elizabeth II when she was in Richmond in May. The two told The Arrow they will return to Tech this fall.

At a recent meeting of the Virginia Tech Incident Review Panel, Haas' mother, Laurie, said her daughter is making progress every day.

Emotionally, Laurie Haas said, her daughter has "an expectation of her ability to heal that is naive."

Matt Webster

Matt Webster
23, Smithfield, Va.

Matt Webster, an engineering student in professor Liviu Librescu's class, survived the shooting by pretending to be dead. A bullet grazed his head and ricocheted into his right arm. He was treated and released from Montgomery Regional Hospital on April 16.

His family said he spent the summer in Blacksburg working at Boudreaux's, a popular downtown eatery, and riding his mountain bike during his off time. He will return to Tech as a senior this fall.

Alec Calhoun

Alec Calhoun
20, Waynesboro, Va.

Jim Calhoun didn't fully grasp how scared his son Alec must have been April 16 until he went into his Norris Hall classroom and looked down from the window where his son jumped.

"The drop is over 19 feet," said Calhoun, a high school teacher in Waynesboro. "I thought, well, I'm not sure I could live through a jump like that."

Calhoun even saw the bent branches on the boxwood where his son and another classmate landed.

The senior was the last student to jump from Liviu Librescu's classroom. He's kept in touch with the other students in the class -- all but one of whom lived, thanks to Librescu's blocking of the door.

Though he wasn't physically injured, the events of April 16 "will never be out of his mind for too long," his father said, adding that Alec was somewhat troubled by survivor's guilt. "I hope it doesn't dominate, but right now it's still too close."

Garrett Evans

Garrett Evans
30, Chicago

A senior in economics and statistics, Garrett Evans was shot in the leg in German class.

A video, made from his hospital bed, was broadcast on YouTube. Evans was quoted in newspapers and broadcasts worldwide for his comment about Seung-Hui Cho: "An evil spirit was going through that boy. I could feel it."

The Roanoke Times has been unable to locate Evans or get an update on his progress. He was hospitalized at Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Montgomery County for two days following the shooting.

Kevin Sterne

Kevin Sterne
22, Eighty Four, Pa.

Kevin Sterne is the subject of the most famous image from April 16. It is Sterne, his face concealed, who was photographed as rescuers carried him from Norris Hall, still bleeding badly from his right leg.

After two weeks in the hospital, Sterne took to crutches and crossed the stage at graduation to pick up his diploma.

His mother, Suzanne Grimes, said he continues physical therapy. "It's going to be a long haul for him, and he's recovering slowly," she said.

But he's not done at Virginia Tech, yet. He's returning to school this fall to pursue a master's degree in electrical engineering.

Sean McQuade

Sean McQuade
23, Mullica Hill, N.J.

Sean McQuade, who is believed to have been the last shooting victim released from a hospital in the Virginia Tech region, turned 23 on Aug. 1.

As he continues to wrestle with the effects of being shot in the face, McQuade has inspired numerous fundraisers in southern New Jersey, including a yogathon.

In a recent post on the Web site where she writes updates on her son's condition, Jody McQuade said Sean no longer has feeling in his face and is planning to undergo facial nerve surgery that is expected to take eight to 10 hours.

Guillermo Colman

Guillermo Colman
38, Harrisonburg, Va.

Quietly, busily and determinedly, Gil Colman is moving on.

Colman was shot in the head April 16. The bullet, which lodged behind his left ear, was removed later that day.

Since then, Colman has kept a low profile. A friend serves as his spokesman.

He probably doesn't have a lot of free time to talk: Despite his injury, Colman still works full time at Blackwell Engineering in Harrisonburg and is finishing up a graduate degree in civil engineering.

Though he continues to receive medical treatment for his injuries, there's much better news for him to focus on: Two months ago, he and his wife, Nell-Marie, celebrated the first birthday of their son Daniel.

Chang Min Park
27, South Korea

Chang Min Park, a civil engineering student, was injured in the attacks.

According to the New York Post, Park was shot in the side and in his left hand.

He spent just more than a week in Montgomery Regional Hospital, but now, four months later, he's much improved.

Dong Ha, a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering, said Park "has recovered completely and has come back to Blacksburg after visiting Korea."

Ha said Park will continue his studies at Virginia Tech in the fall.

Katelyn Carney

Katelyn Carney
21, Sterling, Va.

Katelyn Carney, a student in Jamie Bishop's German class, was shot in the left hand. She also suffered minor head injuries as she tried to block Cho from entering the classroom. He repeatedly banged the door against her head. The gunshot wound was a result of his shooting at the doorknob.

Initially, Carney was hospitalized for nearly a week. This summer, she had a second surgery on her hand, continued her physical therapy and entered counseling. She returned to Tech for the second summer session to continue her major in international studies.

"She's the first injured student back in class," said her mother, Susan Carney. "She really wants to graduate on time next May. ... Katelyn appreciates all the handmade gifts she has been receiving and the e-mails and cards. She just treasures these things."

John Wallace ''Wally'' Grant

John Wallace "Wally" Grant
64, Blacksburg

Wally Grant, the head of Virginia Tech's School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, was injured by ricocheting bullets while fleeing the gunman. He caught shrapnel in his upper right arm before he ducked into a restroom, where he warned a student to stay put.

Although he typically works between the spring and fall semesters, this summer he took some time off.

In a rare interview with his hometown paper, the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail, he reflected on the events of April 16.

The 27-year Tech employee said the bullet fragments can't be removed, but that he experienced a quick recovery and has full use of his arm. He did, however, express a need for a vacation.

"I usually don't do this," Grant said in May. "But I think I need to take a break and go somewhere."

Elita ''Lily'' Habtu

Elilta "Lily" Habtu
22, Woodbridge, Va.

Lily Habtu, whose parents came to the United States from Eritrea when she was an infant, suffered multiple gunshot wounds April 16 in the German class. The worst injury came from a bullet that entered just below her chin.

After more than a week in the hospital, she was able to go home but is expected to need reconstructive surgery, as well as physical therapy.

The senior psychology major was awarded her degree in May, although she was not able to attend graduation ceremonies. She is continuing to make progress in her recovery, according to her family.

Justin Klein
20, Catonsville, Md.

When asked if her family was tired of hearing from the media, Diane Klein said "no" in a very simple way.

"We don't talk to people like you," she said by phone in July.

Her son Justin was shot three times by the gunman and has stayed fairly private ever since.

But less than two weeks after the shootings, the junior mechanical engineering student was back on campus, his wheelchair surrounded by friends.

"The Hokie community is strong and resilient," Justin Klein said in a statement. "We will persevere, we will go on and we will heal."

Derek O'Dell

Derek O'Dell
20, Roanoke County

Derek O'Dell was shot through the right arm in German class and was released from the hospital the day of the shooting. The bullet missed hitting bone, nerves or major arteries.

The Cave Spring High School graduate, who has designs on becoming a veterinarian, worked this summer at the Cave Spring Veterinary Clinic. An avid chess player and president of Tech's chess club, he also accepted an invitation from the United States Chess Federation to play in a national tournament in Philadelphia in early August. He visited family in California and kept in touch with a few of his wounded classmates.

O'Dell continues to see a counselor twice monthly but is moving forward and will return for his junior year at Tech.

Kristina Heeger
20, Vienna, Va.

After spending the summer going to physical therapy and working for her stepfather's company, Kristina Heeger took a family vacation to Spain shortly before she planned to return to Virginia Tech for her junior year, said Chalinee Tinaves, who roomed with Heeger last year and is also from Vienna. Heeger was shot in the back in Jocelyne Couture-Nowak's intermediate French class, and had to have much of one of her kidneys removed.

"She's basically almost back to normal," Tinaves said. "Every once in a while she has a little pain here and there."

Tinaves said she and Heeger had returned to Tech for a short time during the summer and her friend had toured Norris Hall.

That experience "definitely shook her up a little bit," Tinaves said. "She's definitely positive about returning and being back around her friends, but it's going to be probably taking it one day at a time."

Compiled by Roanoke Times writers Donna Alvis Banks, Matt Chittum, Albert Raboteau, Beth Macy and Neil Harvey and research librarian Belinda Harris.