April 16, 2007 changed Kristina Anderson’s life forever. A student pursuing a degree in international studies and foreign languages at Virginia Tech, Ms. Anderson found herself at the scene of the nation’s worst school shooting in history. To best share her emotional experiences and goals of reforming campus security measures, Ms. Anderson founded the Koshka Foundation shortly after the tragedy to commemorate the lives lost in a meaningful and positive way. The Koshka Foundation serves to educate, inform and promote school and community safety on every level. Ms. Anderson hopes to encourage awareness concerning violence prevention through communicating her significant personal encounter with gun violence, as well as working and meeting others affected by irrational acts of aggression. The Koshka Foundation strives to reach out, especially to youth, as a means to influence security changes via bottom-up initiatives worldwide.

Born and partly raised in Ukraine, Ms. Anderson maintains a passion for overseas travel and foreign languages. She will be finishing her undergraduate work at Virginia Tech in May 2009, earning minor degrees in French and Russian. In addition to her continuing foundation work, Ms. Anderson plans to teach English to elementary school-aged students in France before enrolling in law school in the United States.
For more information about the Koshka Foundation or to contact Kristina Anderson, please refer to www.koshkafoundation.org.