Jocelyne Couture-Nowak - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Jocelyne M. Couture-Nowak (February 17, 1958 — April 16, 2007) was an instructor

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

of French in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at Virginia Tech

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...

in Blacksburg, Virginia

Blacksburg, Virginia

Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...

and was the only Canadian victim of the Virginia Tech massacre

Virginia Tech massacre

The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...

. She was a native of Canada, and while residing in Truro, Nova Scotia

Truro, Nova Scotia

-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...

, she co-founded the first Francophone

Francophone

The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

school in the region.

Life and career

Born in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, she was raised in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...

, the eldest of five children. She graduated from Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School

Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School

Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School is a secondary school located in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is part of the Tri-County Regional School Board and is the only high school in the town of Yarmouth...

in 1981.

Couture initially worked at a newly-opened daycare operated by the Yarmouth Boys and Girls Club. She began to pursue her teaching career at the Nova Scotia Teachers College

Nova scotia teachers college

The Nova Scotia Teachers College is a former university that was located in the town of Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada.Founded as the Provincial Normal School the college was established by an act of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, which received Royal Assent on March 31, 1854...

in Truro

Truro, Nova Scotia

. She graduated in 1989 then obtained a degree from St. Mary's University

Saint Mary's University (Halifax)

Saint Mary's University is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. The school is best known for having nationally lead programs in Business, Astronomy and International Development Studies as well, one of the best football and Men's hockey programs in Canada .The campus is situated in Halifax's...

in Halifax in the early 1990s. While living in Truro, Couture worked as a French instructor in the Humanities Department at Nova Scotia Agricultural College

Nova Scotia Agricultural College

Nova Scotia Agricultural College is a Canadian university college located in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, a village near the town of Truro. NSAC was officially founded February 14, 1905. In the early years, NSAC focused on educating farmers in aspects of field and animal husbandry...

(NSAC). She married Jerzy Nowak, an instructor in the Horticulture Department at NSAC. Couture-Nowak had two daughters, Sylvie and Francine Dulong.

With two other local Francophone parents, Couture-Nowak established the École acadienne de Truro, the first French language public school for central Nova Scotia in September, 1997. Operated by the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial

Conseil scolaire acadien provincial

The Conseil scolaire acadien provincial is the Francophone school board for Nova Scotia.It was created in 1996.-Région Nord-Est :*Centre scolaire Étoile de l'Acadie; Sydney*École acadienne de Pomquet; Pomquet*École Beau-Port; Arichat...

, the École acadienne de Truro has grown from 36 students in 1997 to 118 students in grades Primary through 10. The school's first class of seniors graduated in 2006.

In 2001, Couture-Nowak and her husband moved their family to Blacksburg, Virginia

Blacksburg, Virginia

, where her husband had accepted a position as Professor and Head of the Department of Horticulture at Virginia Tech. Couture-Nowak accepted a position as an Instructor of French in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature.
Throughout her life Couture-Nowak described herself as being a proud French-Canadian.

Death

Couture-Nowak was teaching an Intermediate French class in Room 211 at Norris Hall

Virginia Tech campus

The Virginia Tech campus is located in Blacksburg, Virginia; the central campus is roughly bordered by Prices Fork Road to the northwest, Plantation Drive to the west, Main Street to the east, and U.S. Route 460 bypass to the south, although it also has several thousand acres beyond the central...

on the morning of April 16, 2007 when she was killed by Seung-Hui Cho

Seung-Hui Cho

Seung-Hui Cho was a senior-level undergraduate student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University who killed 32 people and wounded 17 others on April 16, 2007, in the shooting rampage which came to be known as the "Virginia Tech massacre." Cho later committed suicide after law...

as one of the 32 victims in the Virginia Tech massacre

Virginia Tech massacre

. Couture-Nowak, one of the first to be shot in Norris 211, was 49 years old when she died.

After Clay Violand, one of Couture-Nowak's students, told her to place a desk in front of the door , Couture-Nowak had her students barricade the classroom door with a desk and then ushered her students to the back of the class for their safety while 911 was called. The attempt at barricading the door proved unsuccessful. Couture-Nowak and 11 of the 22 registered students perished. Couture-Nowak died in front of the door and next to the teacher's desk.

Posthumous recognition

In Nova Scotia, more than 400 people attended a commemorative service for her.
In speeches given in the Canadian parliament

Parliament of Canada

The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

shortly after the shooting, Canadian Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

and Opposition

Official Opposition (Canada)

In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...

leader Stéphane Dion

Stéphane Dion

Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...

made special mention of Couture-Nowak. Nova Scotian Premier

Premier of Nova Scotia

The Premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister for the Canadian province of Nova Scotia who presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of the political party which has the most seats in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly...

Rodney MacDonald

Rodney Joseph MacDonald is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th Premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 to 2009....

also made special mention of Couture-Nowak, and in particular spoke of her contribution to the francophone community with her key role in the development of École acadienne in Truro.

Couture-Nowak was discussed, along with Liviu Librescu

Liviu Librescu

Liviu Librescu was a Romanian-Israeli-American scientist and academic professor whose major research fields were aeroelasticity and aerodynamics...

, as potentially becoming the "iconic image that will forever recall the massacre at Virginia Tech" by CBC

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

News Editor-in-Chief Tony Burman

Tony Burman

Tony Burman is the Velma Rogers Graham Research Chair at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.Previously, he served as Al Jazeera's chief strategic advisor for the Americas, 2010-2011, based in Washington DC. He also served as managing director of the Al Jazeera English network, based in Doha,...

.

Virginia Tech named her an Honorary Distinguished Instructor and the Virginia Tech Foundation established the Jocelyne Couture-Nowak Scholarship, awarded to French majors annually. Nova Scotia Agricultural College also established a bursary

Bursary

A bursary is strictly an office for a bursar and his or her staff in a school or college.In modern English usage, the term has become synonymous with "bursary award", a monetary award made by an institution to an individual or a group to assist the development of their education.According to The...

in her name.

Students at Virginia Tech have also organized a new foreign language program named Teach for Madame in honor of Couture-Nowak, wherein members teach French to elementary school students.

In May 2008, Virginia Tech named Couture-Nowak's widower, Jerzy Nowak, as the founding director of its newly created Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention.

Life and career

Death

Posthumous recognition

Further reading