Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." On April 20, 2007, the students of Virginia Tech University showed tremendous strength and courage durin ga week of enormous grief and suffering. On April 16, 2007, the tragedy at the campus of Virginia Tech injured twenty-five students and claimed the lives of thirty-two individuals, including the life of one of their team captains.

The following weekend, just a few days later, the students of Virginia Tech University united as a campus and held their annual Relya For Life, raising $285,505. The students of Virginia Tech University truly embodied the spirit of Relay in their actions, showing that fear and anger are much smaller than hope. Hope that they could make a difference, hope for answers, hope for a day when the words "you have cancer" are no more, and hope for a cure!

During that week, love from across the country poured to the campus of Virginia Tech, and the Relay For Life community was at the forefront of this campaign. As cards were signed, banners raised, and memorials formed, it showed Virginia Tech that we were all connected through the bond of the American Cancer Society. We all became Hokes that week, and were honored to be a part of the tremendous love and devotion for the campus.

Relay For Life is a time to celebrate, remember and fight back; it is a symbol of hope that united, we will eradicate cancer. At the 2007 National Collegiate Leadership Summit, Virginia Tech was honored, for their courage, strength, dedication, and passion for a cause that bonds us all. The Relay For Life of Virginia Tech was presented with the American Cancer Society's Youth Hall of Hope Award, the first of its kind, to honor their determiniation in the fight against cancer.