A Columbine study: giving voice, hearing meaning.

On a quiet spring morning, the 20th of April 1999, Columbine High School emerged from relative anonymity as a typical suburban high school and became internationally recognized as a symbol of school violence and tragic loss. As a parent whose child was in the school at the time of the attack, I struggled to make sense of the tragedy. I decided to conduct research into the experience as a way to learn lessons that might help others exposed to community-wide trauma in the future. Through modified oral history interviews of other Columbine parents in combination with other qualitative research strategies, I collected and studied stories of the events of that day and the years following. An unexpected by-product emerged from the study, for it seemed that I was not only learning about crisis response and trauma care but also offering a means for parents to gain comfort in reflecting on their own experience. This paper describes the distinct approach that I employed to create a gateway to understanding this experience. It does not explicate the findings of the Columbine study but instead explores the potential for positive outcomes for those who, by giving voice to their stories, can connect to a deeper appreciation for their own experience.