JEANNA DUERSCHERL The Roanoke Times

Mona Samaha smells a rose left at the memorial stone of her daughter Reema Joseph Samaha as Reema's sister Randa, brother Omar and other extended family members reflect.

BLACKSBURG -- Twelve thousand lighted candles.

Thirty-two lives lost.

Three years ago.

One Hokie Nation.

"It is in darkness that we find the light," Virginia Tech President Charles Steger told the throngs gathered at twilight Friday on the Drillfield to mourn, to remember and to honor both the living and the dead.

"Our hearts still ache and many times we are lost," Steger said.

But the candle burning at the foot of Burruss Hall in memory of those killed on April 16, 2007, "is one of the symbols of our respect, our remembrance and our road to recovery."

As the name of each of the lost was read, family members, friends, survivors and volunteers carried candles and stood by the stone marked for that victim.

When the last was called out, they carried their lights forward, offering them to the crowd.

The light spread slowly, hand to hand, candle to candle, through the assembly of thousands gathered in sight of Norris Hall, where 30 of the 32 were killed, and many more were injured.

With the light spread the wind and the sounds of gentle weeping.

One stranger whispered to another: "Go Hokies."

"See it spreading?" another said.

A chorus in mostly maroon Hokie T-shirts sang softly:

"You'll remember me when the west wind moves

Upon the fields of barley.

You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky

As we walk in fields of gold."

This year's commemoration stretched over two days, beginning Thursday with the dedication of two Hokie stone benches added to the memorial in honor of the survivors.

That event had the air of a reunion. Survivors and families of those spared and those lost greeted one another with handshakes and hugs and "haven't seen you since ..." stories.

Heidi Miller, a senior international studies major shot in French class, is one of the last two survivors to receive an undergraduate degree. She and Hilary Strollo are expected to graduate in May.

Speaking at the dedication ceremony, Miller told the assembly: "We have been through a lot together and share many experiences few others may never understand: the fear, the sadness, the smells, the sights.

"But all of us have carried on, and for that I am proud, humbled, and continually inspired. ... We do not define our lives by our physical injuries and emotional trauma resulting from April 16th, rather we define ourselves by the many other things we have become in our lives.

"These benches are in recognition of us -- we are survivors," she said.

Friday's events began with the annual 3.2-mile Run in Remembrance at 8 a.m., which drew a record crowd of about 6,700, Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said.

A community picnic on the Drillfield drew a few hundred sunbathers, Frisbee players and dogs.

Tech rescue squad members played tag football. Counselors from New River Valley Community Services, Cook Counseling Center and Tech's Employee Assistance program stood by at a comfort station.

Tech police guarded the crowds and some chatted with survivors and their families.

A prayer service in War Memorial Chapel and other private events around campus were held for the survivors and families.

The memorial candle was scheduled to be extinguished at midnight.

Changes may come to next year's Day of Remembrance, which falls on a Saturday.

A committee made up of April 16 families and survivors, student leaders, faculty, staff and administrators has recommended that classes remain in session when subsequent anniversaries fall on weekdays.

But no matter how it is celebrated, the day still resonates, even with new students.

A group of mostly freshmen, who had volunteered to unwrap and hand out hundreds of candles, said the day still has meaning for them.

"Everyone knows someone who was affected," said Ar Moehrle, a human development major.

Ryan Horn, a freshman finance major from Richmond, said the community response to the tragedy, particularly news coverage of the first vigil, figured heavily in his decision to attend Virginia Tech.

"The unity was really evident," Horn said.