Florida shooting: High school alumni rally to raise money for students
Christine Sylvest
Felicia Wivchar hugs her former classmate   Christine Sylvest   at an event in Washington  D.C. to raise money for their former high school  Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Photo: Christal Hayes / USA TODAY)
WASHINGTON  â Christine Sylvest  looked around Tony and Joe's Seafood Place and saw a sea of maroon and silver.
Nearly 200 others who once walked the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School flooded the restaurant Tuesday evening in the Georgetown area of Washington  D.C. to raise money and support students and faculty at the school. It wasn't long before  she  saw a familiar face  one  she  hadn't seen in about 22 years.
 She  and Felicia Wivchar  both 39  graduated in 1996 when Parkland  Fla. was still known as a safe  tight-knit community and not as the home to a mass shooting that left 17 dead. Their smiles  hugs and catching up turned bittersweet as they talked about the tragedy and where they were when they heard the news.
Felicia Wivchar hugs her former classmate    [TGT]    at an event in Washington  D.C. to raise money for their former high school  Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Photo: Christal Hayes / USA TODAY)
WASHINGTON  â  [TGT]   looked around Tony and Joe's Seafood Place and saw a sea of maroon and silver.
Nearly 200 others who once walked the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School flooded the restaurant Tuesday evening in the Georgetown area of Washington  D.C. to raise money and support students and faculty at the school. It wasn't long before  she  saw a familiar face  one  she  hadn't seen in about 22 years.
 She  and Felicia Wivchar  both 39  graduated in 1996 when Parkland  Fla. was still known as a safe  tight-knit community and not as the home to a mass shooting that left 17 dead. Their smiles  hugs and catching up turned bittersweet as they talked about the tragedy and where they were when they heard the news.