Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
A French instructor originally from Canada, according to her husband, Jerzy Nowak, the head of the horticulture department at Virginia Tech. According to CTV, both Couture-Nowak and her husband taught at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC), before moving to Virginia Tech where they took teaching posts. Three NSAC students, two from Nova Scotia and one from Prince Edward Island, are currently studying at Virginia Tech, a sister school to NSAC, said CTV.
"She was a very nice person," Fellow Virginia Tech professor, Craig Brians, told Canada AM. "My wife often described Jocelyn as someone, when she'd walk into a room, just would bring a smile to the room, that even in the darkest of situations, she had something encouraging to say. She would have something uplifting to say."
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his condolences for the victims in Parliament on Tuesday. "We learned that a Canadian is among the victims in Virginia and I can say that the prayers thoughts and condolences of each and every one of us here in the House are with that family," Harper said in French. "It's really almost impossible to comprehend why an individual would take his own life and that of so many others in this way, but I think we can all say that our thoughts are with all the victims, their families and the community," he said.
—AP