Hokie Stone Joins Day of Remembrance Activities

Fahad Hassan is an entrepreneur. As a senior at Virginia Tech in 2007, he raised almost $1 million and built his own online company, which he sold to a larger company just two years after its launch.

Hassan is one of 20 Virginia Tech students — both former and current — who will speak at Hokie Stone on April 16. Hokie Stone, a new addition to the Day of Remembrance activities, aims to showcase the knowledge and success of Virginia Tech students in Blacksburg and around the world.

“I think (Hokie Stone) is a great initiative. … If they can do this annually and it becomes a tradition like a lot of the other things at Tech, I think it can be a great thing,” said Hassan.

According to Lauren Fialkow, a junior at Virginia Tech and member of the Hokie Stone organizing committee, Hokie Stone is based off of TED, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.”

Fialkow said that this year, the committee organizing the Day of Remembrance activities wanted to incorporate an academic theme. “(Hokie Stone) is a way to celebrate learning and education, while at the same time, we’re remembering those that we lost,” said Fialkow.

Shane McCarty, vice president of the Virginia Tech Student Government Association, decided on the name of the event, inspired by the Southwest Virginia limestone — more commonly known as Hokie Stone — that the on-campus buildings are made up of.

According to the event introduction written by McCarty, the name “Hokie Stone” suggests the individuality of the Virginia Tech student body because, similar to the stone, each student is unique. The name also serves to suggest the strength of the Virginia Tech community, which, like the buildings made up of Hokie Stone, is still standing strong, despite adversity and misfortune.

Hokie Stone will take place in Squires Colonial Hall from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 16. The event will begin with a tribute to the victims of April 16, 2007, and will then feature speeches and performances from “students who are passionate about what they’re doing and wanting to share that with the community,” said Fialkow. The event will also be streamed live over the Internet for those who are unable to attend.