Ami Patel

Tuesday was supposed to be a fun day for us all. You could see students around campus happy that it was the last day of classes. I remember sitting in a computer lab with friends four hours prior to the shooting and just soaking in my last few days as a fellow 49er as I looked forward to graduating May 11. I never thought we would lose two beautiful souls, Reed and Riley, and would have four students injured at my campus. Never did I think later that day my roommate would be texting us saying that there is a shooter on campus and that she is hiding and safe. To think I was in the exact room that day only a few hours before is scary. To think I might have been in the shooter’s path that day if I had decided to leave campus at 5:30 p.m. To think what if I had not read my texts and had decided to leave to go to campus around that time. All these thoughts were haunting me days after the shooting, but what was amazing was the outpouring of support from community and friends and seeing a unified Niner Nation. I am so so so proud of being a NINER! May tragedies such as these never occur and may we live in a more peaceful society. #CharlotteStrong