Ross A. Alameddine

• Age: 20
• Class: Sophomore
• Major: English and business information technology
• Hometown: Saugus, Mass.
• High school: Austin Preparatory School, Reading, Mass. Graduated '05
• Blacksburg residence: Windsor Hills Apartments

Related

• Sign Ross' guest book
• Virginia Tech shooting victims

Ross Alameddine had the kind of easy-going personality and quirky sense of humor that people were easily drawn to.

After all, he had a knack for putting people in a better mood.

“He said the trick was to not take anything seriously, so spending time with him always put a smile on my face,” said Leah Robinson, 20, a sophomore who met Alameddine in music theory class and was close friends with him. That smile was so big “it made my face hurt on occasion,” she added.

“He was so charismatic and outgoing — all the teachers liked him,” said Bryan Griffith, another friend and Virginia Tech classmate. “He was one of those types of people that could teach himself anything without needing to be taught. This guy was brilliant.”

According to friends, Alameddine had a dizzying array of interests. He was into the arts but also enjoyed tinkering with computers and even building his own. “The kid never owned a television, but he has, like, three computer monitors in his room,” Griffith said.

Alameddine had legions of friends, and by Tuesday morning, a Facebook group dedicated to his memory showed an outpouring of support from friends, family and former classmates from as far back as elementary school.

“The man had a sense of humor like no other,” Robinson said, adding that he was the most “amazing, genuine person” she had ever met.

“It is such a waste because he could have done anything, I mean anything, with his life,” Griffith added.

— Christina Rogers