A 23-year-old Middletown resident was among the students killed in the massacre on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., April 16, 2007. The death of Julia Pryde, a graduate student in the Biological Systems Engineering department, was confirmed by Middletown Mayor Gerard P. Scharfenberger. Scharfenberger said Pryde was an "outstanding academic student," as well as an athlete. Pryde had been on the swimming team at Middletown High School North, swimming the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, and the 100 breaststroke events. Pryde swam for the Red Bank YMCA swim team and the Middletown Swim Club on Harmony Road. "She had gone to Ecuador to do research on water quality issues," he said. "She really had her heart in the right place." A student who was "dedicated to her work and her studies," Pryde was a participant in SEEDS (Seek Education, Explore, Discover), a nonprofit group dealing with ecology issues, Nicole Malone said as she vividly remembers spending carefree childhood days with her friend and across-the-street neighbor. They'd religiously watch the TV show "Full House." They'd play "manhunt," a common childhood game, with other youngsters on Swartzel Drive. They even stayed friends throughout their teenage years, when both girls were on the swim team at Middletown High School North.Pryde graduated last spring with a bachelor's degree in biological systems engineering, said Mary Leigh Wolfe, a professor of biological systems at Virginia Tech and Pryde's adviser for the past four years. Pryde was sitting in her advanced hydrology class when the gunman entered, Wolfe said. Many of the class' students and its professor, G.V. Loganathan, died, Wolfe said.
A 23-year-old Middletown resident was among the students killed in the massacre on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., April 16, 2007. The death of Julia Pryde, a graduate student in the Biological Systems Engineering department, was confirmed by Middletown Mayor Gerard P. Scharfenberger. Scharfenberger said Pryde was an "outstanding academic student," as well as an athlete. Pryde had been on the swimming team at Middletown High School North, swimming the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, and the 100 breaststroke events. Pryde swam for the Red Bank YMCA swim team and the Middletown Swim Club on Harmony Road. "She had gone to Ecuador to do research on water quality issues," he said. "She really had her heart in the right place." A student who was "dedicated to her work and her studies," Pryde was a participant in SEEDS (Seek Education, Explore, Discover), a nonprofit group dealing with ecology issues, Nicole Malone said as she vividly remembers spending carefree childhood days with her friend and across-the-street neighbor. They'd religiously watch the TV show "Full House." They'd play "manhunt," a common childhood game, with other youngsters on Swartzel Drive. They even stayed friends throughout their teenage years, when both girls were on the swim team at Middletown High School North.Pryde graduated last spring with a bachelor's degree in biological systems engineering, said Mary Leigh Wolfe, a professor of biological systems at Virginia Tech and Pryde's adviser for the past four years. Pryde was sitting in her advanced hydrology class when the gunman entered, Wolfe said. Many of the class' students and its professor, G.V. Loganathan, died, Wolfe said.
