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Today's most e-mailed
Prior days' news: By date | Search This week's print issue Back issues: By date | Search April 19, 2007Emily Jane HilscherEmily Jane Hilscher, 18, thought of herself as a pixie, and she had a bright smile and a twinkle in her eyes to match. She hailed from the tiny town of Woodville, Va., not far from Shenandoah National Park. After graduating from Rappahannock County High School last year, she spent the summer working around the corner at a veterinary practice.  Facebook.com A veterinarian there told the local newspaper, the Culpepper Star Exponent, that many young assistants come in loving animals, but are put off by the hard reality of caring for sick and injured creatures. Not Ms. Hilscher. “To do that with happiness and stay positive makes her very special,” said the veterinarian, Betty Meyers. Ms. Hilscher went to Virginia Tech to study animal and poultry sciences, with a focus in equine science. She also rode with the university’s equestrian club. “Emily Hilscher was a wonderful student to have in class — bright, cheerful, thoughtful,” her freshman composition instructor, Nick Kocz, writes in an e-mail message. One day, to demonstrate interview techniques, he asked her questions in front of the class. She made it seem fun, he says: It was the moment the students “really began to gel as a class.” “Emily taught me to have faith in in-class unstructured student demonstrations,” Mr. Kocz said. “Since then, I have allowed students to become more involved in forming individual lessons, which has helped me grow as a teacher.” Ms. Hilscher had spent the weekend with her boyfriend, a student at nearby Radford University, before returning to her dormitory on the morning of April 16. She and her resident assistant, Ryan Clark, were shot to death there. Police initially trailed Ms. Hilscher’s boyfriend, Karl Thornhill, because her roommate said they had all gone to a shooting range recently — not an unusual activity in rural Virginia. Then false rumors spread about a relationship between Ms. Hilscher and the killer. No such relationship existed, her friends insist. In online postings, they express frustration and anguish over the lies they say have dishonored their friend’s memory and compounded their grief. What is important, they say, is remembering Ms. Hilscher. “I’d feel grateful if even one of my children grew up to be the person she was,” says Mr. Kocz, a father of three. “We’re all deeply saddened at the loss. —Sara Lipka Posted on Thursday April 19, 2007 | Permalink |Comments |
I think that Emily Hilscher was a very beautiful girl,& from what i have read about her she was a wonderful person! I send my condolences to her family and friends! This was a very big tragedy,but in time things will get better. & alwayz remember God is w/ you! R.I.P Emily Hilscher
— Tabatha Gray Apr 24, 09:43 AM #