The Class of 2021 celebrated Ring Premiere in Burruss Hall on Oct. 9 and unveiled their class ring.

The 2021 ring depicts moments that shaped the students' time at Virginia Tech. There is significance attached to every detail of the ring, from the solar eclipse depicted on the top left-side of the ring, that occurred in August 2017 to mark the beginning of the class’s first year, to the lunar eclipse shown on the top right-side of the ring, that will occur in May 2021 to mark the end of the class’s time at Virginia Tech. The ring is a way for students to honor and remember their time at the university.

Class ring namesake George E. “Buddy” Russell and class sponsor Arthur J. Keown spoke about the importance of the class ring and their time at Virginia Tech. Ring Premiere was also a chance to unveil the university's new ring bus. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held the afternoon of premiere. 

Here's a look at this year's celebration. 

Buddy Russell at Ring Premiere
Class ring namesake George E. “Buddy” Russell attends Ring Premiere.
2021LTeam
Class of 2021 LTeam
HightyTighties
The Highty-Tighties play at Ring Premiere.
RingDesignCommittee
The Ring Design Committee at Ring Premiere.
Finale
Students celebrate during the Ring Premiere finale.
RingBus
The new Blacksburg Transit Ring Bus at a ribbon cutting ceremony.
RibbonCutting
Class of 2021 President Grant Bommer and Balfour representative Mike Foltz at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
RingBusReveal
A group of students, faculty, and staff rode the new bus around the Drillfield to celebrate.

- Written by Amanda Hinton '20

Share this story