Sherman Yau welcomes the chance to talk about how a suicidal gunman shot him at Northern Illinois University last Valentine̢۪s Day. Sharing the experience, he says, has been essential to his healing.

The junior from Naperville, Ill., tells a story of courage and survival, as does the university.

But a year after five students were killed and 21 injured in one of the nation̢۪s worst campus massacres, NIU also finds itself significantly altered.

Demand for counseling has soared across campus, as many struggle with enduring pain. Kristie Bongiovanni, who once was academic adviser to the shooter, Steven Kazmierczak, suffers anger and sorrow every day.

At the same time, school spirit continues to rise. Students and alumni snap up anything with a Huskies logo — T-shirts, pins, bumper stickers. The “Forward Together Forwardâ€Â rallying cry remains highly visible.

And despite the rocky economy, nearly $1 million in private donations poured in for scholarships in the victims̢۪ names.

An example to all

Moving forward can be difficult.

It doesn̢۪t help that no changes have been made to Cole Hall, where Kazmierczak opened fire with a Remington shotgun and Glock 9 mm handgun before taking his own life.

Millions of renovation dollars promised by the state have not materialized, and the windowless, brick building remains shuttered.

Nationally, NIU̢۪s response to the massacre has become a case study in how colleges can best prepare for emergencies.

After several reviews, the university made only slight tweaks to its campus security and communication procedures. Its board of trustees made no policy changes.

“We kept looking for terrible things that happened that needed to be corrected, but we found none,â€Â said Cherilyn Murer, the board’s chair.

Some predictions never came true.

The feared big exodus of students did not happen. The university̢۪s overall enrollment dropped by nearly 900 students, but the school insists that was mostly a result of the economy, and some other colleges in Illinois experienced similar dips. Freshmen applications actually went up for this school year and are arriving in similar numbers for 2009-10.

Since the shootings, NIU has hired private security for its dorms, introduced text messages as a way to communicate with the campus community, and trained professors to look out for signs of troubled students.

Campus Police Chief Donald Grady also has achieved near-celebrity status. His department̢۪s swift, efficient response is considered a model for what to do right.

“I recently saw the police chief and went up to him and said, ‘Thank you so much,’ “ said Stephanie Allen, a junior.

“Everyone really appreciates everything they have done.â€Â

By Megan Twohey / McClatchy Tribune