Working with a lot of college students at Virginia Tech on our programs to retain and attract young adults, a lot of acquaintances and relationships have formed through the duration of this blog and with the position at the City of Roanoke.
Unfortunately, we came across a familiar name – originally on Facebook on Monday night and was later confirmed by traditional media – that Maxine Turner had died in Norris Hall on Monday at Virginia Tech.
Maxine was responsible for organizing a group of 20+ female engineers from Virginia Tech’s Alpha Omega Epsilon sorority to participate in our RoanokeWantsU program, which is designed to bus students to Roanoke, visit with employers, tour downtown Roanoke, and sense and feel what it had to offer both professionally and socially to students.
It was ironic that I saw her again at Squires this past Friday when we were meeting with another student group, Delta Sigma Pi, who was helping us with the Roanoke/NRV Career and Lifestyle Fair at Virginia Tech, which was canceled and scheduled for today.
In my limited dealings with Maxine, she was the type of person the region would hope to try and retain, however, she had already accepted a position upon graduation. Her concern for her fellow friends by organizing this event for them was selfless and demonstrated servanthood.
Our hearts and prayers go to the sorority, friends, and family who knew Maxine more than we did. We will think of her fondly.
