Maxine Shelly Turner

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(CBS/AP)  Maxine Turner, a senior chemical engineering student, from Vienna, Va., had finished her required credits and was preparing for her May graduation.

Her father, Paul Turner, said she took German as an elective, It was in that class where the 22-year-old lost her life.

"She was very excited - she was very excited about school in general," her father said.

Turner was accepted by a handful of high profile schools, including Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore. But she was determined to be a Hokie, her father said.

"We tried to convince her to go elsewhere. When you get accepted to Johns Hopkins, it's a very prestigious school," he said. "But no, she wanted to go to Virginia Tech."

Turner recently helped found a chapter of Alpha Omega Epsilon, a sorority for women in engineering.

Her interests included Tae Kwon Do, Shakespeare and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

She had accepted a chemical engineering job with W.L. Gore and Associates, in Elkton, Md.