Maxine Turner Memorial Scholarship Fund

Eleven days have passed and the shock of what happened at Virginia Tech has sunk in and subsided for most of the country...and life goes on. However, for 33 families, life will never be the same.

I try to keep my blog as anonymous as possible, with USC mentioned as my only affiliation. But, there are times when anonymity must be put aside.

As mentioned in my previous post, one of my sorority sisters, Maxine Turner, was lost to us while sitting in German class - a class she was taking just for fun, during her last semester at Virginia Tech. Instead of getting her cap and gown ready for graduation, her parents and younger brother will hold funeral services for her just a few hours from now.

However, as bittersweet as it may be, beautiful things happen in the midst of tragic circumstances. In the past week and a half there has been an outpouring of love and support from Maxine's sorority sisters around the country...holding vigils, praying, and making plans to see that her memory lives on.

Maxine was one of the founding members of the Virginia Tech chapter of Alpha Omega Epsilon.

We formed this sorority as a place for females who had never had female friends, as a chance for them to meet great girls with similar interests. Also for anyone looking for a support group, since Engineering is challenging. Lastly, as a chance to build professional skills to help girls after graduation.

-- Maxine Turner

In her honor, a scholarship has been formed, to support other women in engineering and technical sciences. If you feel compelled to give, a check payable to "Alpha Omega Epsilon National Foundation, Inc." can be sent to:

A.O.E. National Foundation
P.O. Box 3150
Brunswick, GA 31521

Online donations can also be made at: http://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=36-4111818

Please make sure the check's memo line or "Designate my donation" field for online donations reads: "VA Tech Fund" or "Maxine Turner Fund".

Above all else, continue to pray for Maxine's mother (Susan), father (Paul), brother (Anthony)...as well as her other family and friends, including her chapter of Alpha Omega Epsilon at Virginia Tech. May they all know that God's loving arms surround each one of them now and always.

Perspective

I may be busy and more stressed out than usual these days, but something like the shootings at Virginia Tech on Monday puts things into perspective. It also hit closer to home when I found out one of my sorority sisters was among the casualties. I did not know her personally, so I cannot fathom the loss that her family and friends are feeling during this dark time in their lives. I just pray that they are able to support one another and lean on God as they continue to sort things out.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

My prayers especially go out my other sorority sisters at Virginia Tech. I pray that you're all able to persevere and finish the semester, as bittersweet as those days may be. Keep her in your thoughts and remember her fondly.

Frazzled

For the next couple months I suggest you don't take too much stock in promises I attempt to make through my blog. Aside from the full-time job and volunteering for my sorority...I have now undertaken collaborating in a 15-minute musical that's suppose to make some sort of logical sense and be produced by June. I'll try to make updates as much as I can (I actually do have my 101 list lying around somewhere), but if I go M.I.A...be forewarned...

Blog Stalkers

This evening I dicovered that I had a couple more people who read my blog. Since they admitted to being blogger stalkers, I'll keep their identities hidden - but you know who you are! ;)

Now that I know I have more than a half-dozen people reading this thing regularly...I should probably post more. Hopefully I am up to the task...and I will try my best to keep up some people's stalking habits.