 | Far from his troubled homeland, an Israeli professor, Liviu Librescu, 76 (pictured left), taught engineering science and mathematics at Virginia Tech. A native of Romania, he moved to Virginia from Israel for his sabbatical. I have a fondness for educators who dedicate their lives to advance knowledge and for the betterment of their students. Professor Librescu must have loved his work and his students a great deal.
Monday, as the Virginia Tech gunman stalked the hallways on his way to killing 32 students and professors, he tried to enter Librescu's classroom. Librescu physically blocked the door of his classroom preventing the gunman from entering. The gunman shot & killed the professor, but even as he lay dying, Librescu blocked the door with his body, giving his students time to escape out of the classroom windows. |
Professor Librescu's heroic sacrifice saved the lives of his students and several of them emailed his wife, she reported on a web site, in praise of her husband's actions. "My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," said Joe Librescu from Tel Aviv, Israel. "Students started opening windows and jumping out." Professor Librescu is a hero to not only his family and his nation of Israel, but this immigrant, this teacher from a far land, is also an American hero.
I doubt that the dozens of American students whose lives Librescu saved ever thought that one day their lives, their very survival would depend on the decision made by a man living on the other side of the world to come to America. And Professor Librescu did not come to Virginia to be a hero. He came here for his sabbatical 1985. He must have loved it a great deal because Librescu stayed. And it was to America's benefit that he did.
Think about it. In the twenty or so years here, he probably has helped give us hundreds of engineers, who will spread across this nation to build the bridges, roads, buildings, plastics, electrical circuits, and software programs America needs to stay competitive in the world. Long before his final sacrifice, professor Librescu influenced the lives of Americans and many of us had no clue what we owed him.
Remember that the next time you hear or wonder yourself if there are "too many fur'reners" in America. We have been designed, built and literally saved by immigrants like Professor Librescu.
For that same reason, the second gentleman pictured, G.V. Loganathan, 51, another professor at Virginia Tech is an American hero as well.
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