SALEM, Va. – Roanoke College students and faculty attended the school's opening convocation Tuesday.
It is one of the many events taking place this year to celebrate the college's 175th anniversary.
Roanoke College got its start near Staunton as Virginia Institute, moving to Salem 11 years later.
Many events in our country's history have not made it easy for the school to survive, like Civil War and World War I and World War II, but dedication and teamwork helped Roanoke College make it through.
"Great leadership throughout, you have to have that or you're not going to be ultimately successful, I think," college historian Dr. Mark Miller said. "Unusual dedication on behalf of the faculty and staff and it's been a great effort from the beginning, surviving a civil war, one of the few schools in the South to remain open."
The class of 2021 is the largest in school history, made up of 630 students from 33 states and 20 countries.