If you were to ask an MV what it means to be a Marching Virginian, they would likely respond with the importance of working hard, compassion, friendship, and being a leader. Many of the MVs today absolutely love what they do, and there is a special phrase that our organization lives by today: Ut Prosim, meaning, That I May Serve, in Latin. This Latin phrase is the motto of Virginia Tech, and as representatives of our university, we strive to keep it in the hearts of each MV. One very special Marching Virginian, however, is the very definition of “That I May Serve,” and his name was Ryan “Stack” Clark. Ryan was a victim of the Virginia Tech shooting that took place on April 16, 2007. He was, and is, very special to our organization, and I had the honor of getting to meet and talk with his remarkable mom, Mrs. Letitie Clark. I was able to talk to her about what her son was like, why he decided to become an MV, and how we can remember him and keep him in our hearts. Many of the Marching Virginians today didn’t get the chance to get to know Stack and understand the impact he had on the band. I hope by writing this blog post today, Mrs. Clark and I can keep his memory and spirit alive.
Tell me about what your son; Where did he grow up? What was he like?
Hi, Stack! (ryanstackclark.org)
My son Ryan was born in Germany with his twin brother, because at the time we were a military family moving from place to place. Soon after we moved back to the United States, where my son grew up in Georgia. He’s a lot like his mom in how he loved perfection; he always strived to pay attention to the little details. He loved people, and he lived by the phrase, “I can help.” He always looked for ways to brighten someone else’s day, or make the world a better place. My son had the biggest heart, and the Marching Virginians and the Blacksburg community was his pride and joy.
Why did Ryan decide to become part of the Marching Virginians?
Well, since our family is from Georgia, we knew that it might be tough on our family having a child go out of state for school. When Ryan was starting to tour colleges in his senior year of high school, he went on a tour of Virginia Tech. Right when he arrived, he turned to me and said, “Mom, this is it,” he knew Virginia Tech would be his home. Ryan had been involved with marching band during high school, and he wanted to continue band in college. He was just so excited to come up to Blacksburg early for band camp, and he told me how nervous he was that he wouldn’t make it. He wanted to be a Marching Virginian so bad, and he would find out at midnight during band camp. He stayed up so late, waiting on the results of whether he would be accepted or not. Ryan read his name on the list of baritones that were new to the MVs, and he was just overjoyed. He was now a Marching Virginian.
Can you tell me about the day that he passed away?
Yes. Even though it was 17 years ago, it feels like yesterday to me. Although I’m now retired, I was a teacher at a local school near our home in Georgia. That morning I was already at work, and there was a television in our lounge where the news broadcasters had gotten information about something happening at Virginia Tech. As I was in the lounge with a couple of my coworkers, a couple members of the administration came in and said, referring to me, “Take her home, take her home now.” Nobody had told me what was going on, but in my heart I knew that something was very wrong. Our family had a plan in place for if there was ever an emergency, but I didn’t hear from my son. I had people at the house with me, and it felt as if hours had passed. Then there was a knock at the door, and there was a gentleman alongside a couple police officers standing on my doorstep. This gentleman was the coroner, and he told me that they had received word from the emergency room in Blacksburg, VA, and he said to me, “Ma’am, your son is gone.” From that moment on everything changed. This was the worst day of my life.
How can we remember Ryan and keep him in our hearts?
I think the way that you all have named your Hokie bird after him is beautifully touching, and I adore the way that others have told you all stories about him and taught the band about him. I hope we can remember not what happened to the 32 people that day, but who they were and their impact on this world.
Mrs. Clark told me that in the days following the shooting, she felt like she had gained 330 new family members; the Marching Virginians. She told me that they rallied around her, and their support and level of compassion was overwhelming in her time of grief. She has created a scholarship in memory of Ryan, called The Ryan “Stack” Clark Scholarship, where this organization hosts an annual 5K run that benefits the scholarship. I was absolutely honored to be able to interview such a warm, kind, and compassionate lady, and the Marching Virginians wish her all the best. We remember Ryan and the other 31 victims of that horrific day not by what happened to them, but the impact that they had on their loved ones and the people that they met. To each of the families who lost a loved one during the Virginia Tech shooting, the Virginia Tech community, and the Marching Virginians — We are Virginia Tech.
“The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open hearts and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness. We are the Hokies.”
-Nikki Giovanni, Distinguished Emerita Professor and Poet
Ryan Clark. (ryanstackclark.org)
