Partahi Lumbantoruan was a 34-year-old aspiring teacher who left Indonesia for Virginia Tech three years ago to pursue a doctoral degree in civil engineering.
He was two semesters away from achieving that dream -- a dream that included returning to Indonesia to begin teaching -- when he was killed in Norris Hall on Monday.
A native of Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra, Mr. Lumbantoruan earned his master's degree in civil engineering from Parahyangan University in Java and arrived in the United States in 2004. His father told The Associated Press that his family had sold property and cars to help Mr. Lumbantoruan pay the $8,000 a semester he needed for tuition.
"We wanted him to succeed," said his father, Tohom Lumbantoruan, "but he met a tragic fate."
According to Teguh Wardoyo, a spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, Mr. Lumbantoruan's body will be returned to Indonesia.
One of 32.
As soon as I saw this page, my heart aches. Every one of them is such an amazing human being. My prayer goes to all of their family and friends.
4 comments:
We have all lost so much, when you think of the 32 lives that are left unlived and the changes they might have made to the world.
I agree. We learn from all the mistakes we made in the past, including this one.
The one that broke my heart the most was about the mathematics lecturer Liviu Librescu who was shot while trying to protect his students.. Arghh, i still couldn't believe it happened.. but to be frank, in my very diminutive mind, i think it's a part of life.. i guess nothing happens for no reasons..
Yes, the chap survived the Holocaust, but couldn't run from one very upset student .. such is life.
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