Losing a bright student to gun violence is tough to understand

It’s a little hard to explain the maternal or big-sisterly energy that comes over me at the beginning of a Columbus State University semester.

I get butterflies before class that first day. I’m not nervous, necessarily. I’m excited. I am so eager to know these people to learn their names, their hopes, their passions. In fact, my entire ENGL 1101 syllabus centers around discovering identity and purpose beyond just a major.

I let the students know that first day that I am rooting for their success. That it would make me so happy to give everyone an A at the end of the term. I ask everyone to go around and share their name, as well as brief answers to the following three questions: Who are you? (not a name, but a noun) Why are you here? Where are you going?

By the end of that first class, I feel personally invested in each of the students. I celebrate in my spirit when they are focused, creative, treating others with respect, and pushing themselves. I feel sad when they fall behind and do what I can to help them back up.

I learned Tuesday that one of my students, Destiny Nelson, was shot and killed over the holiday weekend. This hurts. I was supposed to see her in class Wednesday. I was supposed to mark her present on my roll and give her the bonus mark for turning in her cellphone for extra credit. In just three classes, she was early every time and ready to learn. She had a bright confidence and a warmth about her that shone through right away. I cannot believe she won’t be coming to class again.

Why does this keep happening? Why do we keep losing our beloved, bright young people to violence? To drugs? To apathy and mental health issues? Do we even really care? Honestly, are these tragic headlines just the standard background noise to our lives? Every one of them is a person… not a statistic or a project, but a real person with a unique identity, purpose, and hope for the future. We all have to do better — this is not normal. It’s not OK. It’s not fair.

I am praying for her family and friends, her classmates, and all of her teachers, past and present, who will surely be mourning this loss. It will be hard to try and make sense of this. It will be hard for our class to move through the syllabus this week. But ultimately as we mourn, we must be informed and inspired by the drive and warmth that Destiny brought to week one.

Every class, we have a few minutes to free write. Students are offered a quote that they can respond to in their journals, should they so choose. This was the very first quote of the semester, and I cling to it today. “You must do the things you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Losing a bright student to gun violence is tough to understand."