Since the devastating school shooting at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, John Welch has devoted his college career to developing and fostering programs that honor the victims of the nation’s worst school shooting. A sophomore majoring in international studies and French at the time of the tragedy, John Welch transformed his grief and others’ into action. Initially launching “Teach for Madame” (www.engage.vt.edu/teachformadame) to provide free afterschool French classes to young children in memory of a favorite French professor lost in the Virginia Tech tragedy, John Welch has played an integral role in the development of several remembrance service projects, effectively promoting a positive healing process for the Virginia Tech community. John Welch also serves on the steering committee of VT-ENGAGE, a University-led initiative to promote service in the Virginia Tech community and was recently appointed to coordinate the community service projects of Virginia Tech’s 36 fraternities.
In addition to his community service activities, John Welch has taken an active role in promoting safety on campuses. In cooperation with Virginia Tech’s Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, John Welch recently co-founded, alongside Kristina Heeger Anderson, the Students for Non-Violence club. Students for Non-Violence is a group at Virginia Tech affiliated with the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention and aims to engage students in the processes affecting campus security measures and promoting non-violent behavior.  In October 2010, the club and the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention will host a student research symposium on violence prevention cosponsored by the Inter-institutional Academic Collaborative Among ACC Universities (ACCIAC).
John Welch was born outside of New London, Connecticut, to a Coast Guard family. Because of his father’s military career, John Welch has had the opportunity to live throughout the United States and the Mariana Islands. He will graduate from Virginia Tech in May of 2010 with a degree in international studies and French and a certificate of French for business. A language and cultural enthusiast and passionate about international affairs, John Welch hopes to join the Foreign Service after graduation.