CLEMSON, SC - Clemson University graduate student Lex Bozzo, who graduated from Virginia Tech last May, wasn’t even on campus April 16, 2007, but she – like so many others – experienced a great loss that day. Bozzo’s boyfriend Jeremy Herbstritt was one of 32 people killed by a gunman on Virginia Tech’s campus.

Bozzo’s classmates in the city and regional planning graduate program are pulling together to help her honor Herbstritt’s memory with J-Herb’s Roaring 5K Sunday, at 8:30 a.m. April 20. The certified 5K run/walk will start at Edwards Hall and will wind through campus, ending at Lowry Hall.

Because Herbstritt was an avid runner, Bozzo said she couldn’t think of a better way to honor his memory. Bozzo started running after he died

“I’ve never been a runner before, but I have been running in his memory. It helps keep part of him alive for me,” she said. Bozzo said she plans to someday run a half-marathon in memory of Herbstritt.

Herbstritt was one of four children who grew up on a farm in rural Bellefonte, Pa. He earned a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Penn State University before changing career paths and getting another bachelor’s degree, this one in civil engineering. Bozzo said he was a dedicated student who had to work his way through school with a job at the power plant at Penn State. He also found time to give back to his community; he and his father would regularly help out at homeless shelters and soup kitchens on holidays.

“He was not a rich kid,” she said. “He was not the type of person that gunman thought he was targeting.”

Bozzo, a New Jersey native, met Herbstritt at Virginia Tech. She was studying political science and interdisciplinary studies and he was a graduate student in civil engineering. She had been accepted into Clemson’s city and regional planning graduate program and Herbstritt planned to move to the area after he completed his degree in May.

Bozzo said Herbstritt was an active outdoorsman and loved to kayak. She believes he would have loved the Clemson area.

“Part of the reason I wanted to have the run on campus was because the runners will get to see the views of Clemson he never got to experience,” she said.

Registration the day of the race begins at 7:15 a.m. and is $16. Proceeds from the race will go to the Jeremy Herbstritt Memorial Fund at Virginia Tech, which is used for scholarships. The race is sponsored by Clemson’s student chapter of the American Planning Association.

The fourth annual Take Back the Night Run, an event to help end domestic violence, rape and interpersonal violence, will be Friday, April 18. The certified 5K race will begin at 6 p.m. outside Redfern Heath Center and run throughout Clemson’s campus.

All the proceeds from the event will benefit Safe Harbor, Foothills Alliance and the Pickens County Rape Crisis Center.

Last year more than 200 people participated in the event, but Jennifer Goree, health educator for Redfern health promotions, said this year they anticipate about 500 runners. Many of those runners will be members of Clemson’s fraternity and sorority chapters, as the Greek Programming Board has adopted the event as the culmination of this year’s “Greek Week,” April 14-18.

“Many of Clemson’s sororities already do philanthropic work for organizations that focus on domestic violence and sexual assault, such as Safe Harbor, so this event was a good fit for Greek Week,” said Goree. “There is already a lot of work on campus being done toward this cause.”

The “Take Back the Night Spring Music Festival,” featuring performances by local acts Heart to Heart, Joshua Stevens and Civil Twilight, will follow the race. Music will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Outdoor Theater. The concert, sponsored by CLEMSONLiVE and Greek Week 2008, is free and open to the public.

Race winners will receive cash prizes, and each pre-registered runner will receive a free T-shirt.

Pre-registration ends Thursday April 10, but runners can register before 5 p.m. the day of the event. Registration forms may be downloaded at www.clemson.edu/~shac. Registration is $10 before April 10 and $15 the day of the race. A group rate of $8 per runner is available for groups of eight or more.