The bridge between then and now: A Hokie family story
Before Kaitlyn Ellis stepped foot on the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus, she already knew the stories. She had grown up hearing them — tales of late-night studying, Blacksburg nightlife, and dorm living — all from her parents who began their own story at that university.
“I’ve always been aware of Virginia Tech,” said Ellis, a senior. “It has always been the host to all of my parent’s stories — How they met, the engagement, and stories like that.”
Both of her parents attended Virginia Tech. Her father studied electrical engineering. Her mother started as a math major and graduated with a degree in statistics. Ellis started her college years pursuing a biochemistry degree, but determined her passion was elsewhere.
She was commonly asked what she wanted to do with her biochemistry degree, but she never seemed to find an answer to the question.
Then after becoming aware of the professional and technical writing major from a roommate, Ellis switched her major. As she was editing procedural documents for her summer internship with the civil engineering firm, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., Ellis recognized how detail oriented she was.
“I could easily see an unnecessary double space on a line," she said. "Editing just came quickly."
She plans to graduate with a professional and technical writing degree from the Department of English.
She has expressed her gratitude for Virginia Tech for providing her with helpful resources to achieve her goals. For example, she thoroughly enjoyed one of her major’s classes, where they worked on copyediting. Classes like these, she said, helped her find her way, when nothing in science seemed to align with her interests.
“PTW [professional and technical writing] just fell into place for me,” she said.
A similar love had blossomed on the same campus a few decades before, but that time it wasn’t with a career path. Ellis’ parents started dating their junior year and would occasionally meet on a bridge connecting their dorms.
The proposal happened during finals week.
“She turned to him and was like, ‘What’s up with you? You have been off all day,’” Ellis said about her mother and father. “And I guess the thought had occurred to him that he wanted to get married to her. He just spat it out.”
They didn’t consider it an official engagement until they went back home for the summer. He picked her up for a date, with a bouquet of flowers and a ring, even though they both thought the original proposal had been perfect and uniquely theirs.
Mountain Lake, one of the primary settings for the well-known movie “Dirty Dancing,” was the location of their honeymoon. Conveniently, Mountain Lake is only about 30 minutes from Virginia Tech.
“My dad cashed out the last of his bank account right before the wedding,” she said. “And during their honeymoon, they went to one of the stores — I think it was Walmart — and picked out the plates and silverware for their first apartment.”
Ellis and her parents not only share their lives, but also their experiences attending Virginia Tech. They’ve explored downtown as a family to see what’s still around from her parents’ time at the university. Their daughter learned that Top of the Stairs, a popular student hangout, used to be called The Balcony in the mid-'80s to early '90s and had a spinning prize wheel for drink specials. Additionally, the drink prices would get more expensive as the night wore on.
Together they also ventured to War Memorial Gym, where Ellis now takes dance classes. Although her parents didn’t notice many changes, even after months of construction, Ellis expressed gratitude for the university providing such a convenient and free resource for students.
“It’s always gratifying to hear about family connections to Virginia Tech,” said Dawn Knight-Withers, Department of English academic advisor. “It’s stories like Kaitlyn’s that truly capture what it means to be part of the Hokie family. For her, commencement isn’t just about celebrating her personal achievement. It’s about honoring a legacy and a community that’s been a huge part of her family’s story. That sense of pride, tradition, and connection runs through all of us. It’s a common thread that ties every Hokie together, no matter where we are or when we graduated. It’s love, it’s home, and it’s what makes being a Hokie so special.”
As Ellis looks back at her time at Virginia Tech, she recognizes that she is graduating with not only a degree, but a deeper connection to the place that has shaped her and the people who raised her.
Written by Maia Tartaglino, a Virginia Tech advertising major with a minor in professional and technical writing
