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"Life is not lived in the glow of a monitor. It's not based on your friend count. It's about the friends that you can count on."

Recap Virginia Tech's Spring University Commencement ceremonies with this video.

And congratulations, Class of 2015!

The Virginia Tech Kendo Club is one of dozens of student organizations at Virginia Tech, all representing a diverse student body and experience. Together with other groups on the Virginia Tech Martial Arts Council, they're set to host the Martial Arts Spring Expo on Feb. 15.

More information on the expo: http://bit.ly/1vGXq5e

In a first-of-its-kind research opportunity, the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) is set to use unmanned aircraft, provided by NASA and Australian company Flirtey Inc., to deliver medical supplies to a free health clinic operated by Remote Area Medical.

On the morning of July 17, a fixed-wing aircraft remotely operated by NASA Langley Research Center pilots will deliver medical supplies to Lonesome Pine Airport in Wise, Virginia. The medical cargo will be transferred in smaller packages to aircraft operated by Flirtey for delivery to the Wise County Fairgrounds.

This Flirtey aircraft weighs only about 10 pounds and will lower its cargo via tether.

The deliveries will take place during the annual free clinic run by Remote Area Medical and the Health Wagon, a local health care outreach organization. The clinic, held at the fairgrounds, typically serves more than 1,500 patients.

Read more: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/201...

For Virginia Tech students, being active is part of the Hokie lifestyle. With so many students embracing good health and energetic lives, it sometimes makes it difficult for friends, family, and even doctors to detect an underlying health condition.

The parents of Virginia Tech student Ryan Lopynski experienced just that in 2009 when Ryan tragically died due to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Ryan, who was a freshman hospitality and tourism management student, had recently received a physical exam with no heart abnormalities detected.

"It's just one of these things where you say, 'This doesn't happen to me,'" said John Lopynski, Ryan's father.

Most heart conditions cannot be identified with a simple stethoscope, which is why Ryan’s parents started The Ryan Lopynski Big Heart Foundation to help detect and prevent SCA.

"There's different ways that people react to situations like this, and we think we want to give back -- it's something that we do as a family," John Lopynski said. "And it's also a salve, if you will, to the hurt."

The foundation partnered with Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic on Saturday, January 24 to give free electrocardiogram (EKG) screenings to the first 300 students who registered.

An EKG is a noninvasive, painless test that records the impulses in the heart. Just one seven-minute test can discover deviations from regular heart activity.

Saturday's screenings detected abnormalities in six people that will be reviewed further by a doctor -- findings that could potentially be life-saving.

"We embrace this as a family," John Lopynski said. "Of course we're grieving from our son's loss, but this is a way of giving back and making sure that we're doing our part to help avoid situations like this for other families."

Read more: http://bit.ly/15QSvSH