Though it’s been a year since the Feb. 14 shootings, NIU counselors continue to work hard to help students and the community at large move forward.

Carolyn Bershad, associate director for clinical services at the Counseling and Student Development Center, said all of the counselors at CSDC and other student affairs offices were busy trying to offer support and information to students on what to expect after a traumatic experience.

“We saw many who were affected by grief and loss issues and who felt anxious regarding their own safety, both physically and emotionally,” Bershad said. “Some of these reactions were to be expected, and part of our work was to help students know that they were reacting ‘normally’ to an ‘abnormal situation.’ We also had to manage our own responses, and spent time with each other offering support and caring.”

The CSDC treated over 250 new students in the first two weeks after the shooting. The CSDC also provided outreach to many more students by spending time with them as well as faculty at various locations on campus, Bershad said.

“Our utilization continues to be greater since the shooting,” Bershad said. “We saw about 15 percent more students overall in fall 2008 than in fall 2007, and about 22 percent more new students coming to counseling for the first time.”

Shaun Palus, graduate student therapist for the Family Center, said he was a first-year student in the psychology master’s degree program when he transitioned to work for the Family Center in March of 2008.

“By that time, I was seeing about five students who were directly affected by the shooting,” Palus said. “The volume of students coming in has fluctuated throughout the year. We are doing everything we can to make sure that our resources are known. We will be volunteering services across campus on the 14th during the remembrance, as I’m sure it will be a very difficult time for everyone.”

Troy Chamberlain, a sophomore hospitality administration major, was in the classroom at the time of the shootings, and he sustained gunshot wounds to both his thigh and calf muscles. He said he has healed significantly both emotionally and physically through the course of the year, though the pellets from the gunshots remain in his leg.

“Even though it is a year later, I still find it difficult to talk about everything,” Chamberlain said.

“Part of my healing process included spending a lot of time with my family. Going to Virginia Tech’s one-year anniversary remembrance really helped move things along for me as well.”

Though Chamberlain has not yet been to counseling, he said he would like to take advantage of the resources offered on campus.