Valencia College professor vows to keep student Cory James Connell's story alive after Orlando shooting
ORLANDO — An English professor at Valencia College here teaches his students how to use words to tell the story of their lives — unfortunately, one of his brightest won’t be able to.
Standout college student Cory James Connell, 21, who was from Ocoee, about 13 miles west of Orlando, was among the 49 murdered in the Pulse nightclub shooting early Sunday morning.
“As an English professor I try to ensure that my students have an opportunity to get their stories out. And Cory was one of those individuals that had passions, had dreams, had goals, had desires, and they were taken away from him,” Rudy Darden, 35, said in an interview with Yahoo News.
Connell sat in the back of the classroom for Rudy Darden’s college composition course, but he was not quiet. He would regularly stay after class to ensure that he understood the directions for his assignments and worked well in groups, according to Darden.
The class they had together depended greatly on class participation, and Connell never shied away from contributing to their class discussions, he said.
“In fact, I recall just how eager he was to always participate,” Darden said. “It’s a shame that a student who stands out is one of the students who ends up being a victim.”
Yahoo News first met Darden during a vigil for victims of the tragedy outside Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando on Monday night. He said he wanted the world to know of Connell’s life, desires and voice.
Connell was churchgoer and a “follower of God,” said Darden. He graduated from Edgewater High School in 2013 and was studying sports journalism and broadcasting at Valencia College. But he got excited about the many possibilities his life could have taken, according to the professor.
Darden described Connell as a talented young man who was passionate about helping people. He would entertain different career possibilities in which he could serve others, such as being a professor, police officer or firefighter.
“And this is the sad part of the story: He was still discovering himself, but he knew he had a passion for people. Dying at such a young age … it’s unfair and it’s what we’re all left with now,” Darden said to Yahoo News over the phone on Wednesday.
Todd Jones, the president and CEO of Publix supermarkets, where Connell worked as a stocker, said in a statement, “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those affected by the Orlando tragedy, including our own Publix family as we grieve the loss of one of our associates.”
His sister, Ashley Connell, took to Facebook Tuesday to say that she will always be #CoryStrong.
“This was never [supposed] to happen to you and I have no idea how I will ever be able to accept this,” she wrote. “This will never be easy and I will forever have you in my heart. I can’t wait to share all the wonderful memories that we have with my son. I know you loved him so much and he will know that. I love my brother so much and I’m missing you dearly. You are my hero Cory Connell.”
Darden said when he has previously watched stories of tragedies like this, his immediate reaction would be, “What a shame that is.” In fact, when he first heard about the Orlando shooting, his reaction was very much the same. But when he learned that someone he knew personally, who’s an important part of his community, had died, his reaction went from “What a shame that is” to “My heart is broken.”
Still, words sometimes are not enough to convey what someone is feeling at times like these — even for an English professor.
“As a person who tries to teach students how to put their words together, to share their story, for me these words fall short of what’s happening in me and processing that,” he said. “I think [that is what] all of us out here are experiencing.”
Connell was taken too soon, but it appears he touched the lives of too many people to count. The tributes are pouring in over social media. Friends and family remember not only his athleticism and faith, but most of all, it seems, his kindness.
“I’m hopeful that someone will read this story, someone will become inspired,” Darden said, “and it will be a part of Cory’s legacy.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Connell family with travel and funeral expenses. You can visit it by clicking here.
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